Man drowns after jumping off cliff

A body that washed ashore at 2:15 p.m. Monday at West Street beach was determined to be that of a man who jumped off a cliff at Tablerock Beach about 6:15 p.m. Sunday, Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

The victim was identified as William Roberto Burgos-Barrientos, 22, of Lake Forest.

Burgos-Barrientos died from salt-water drowning, Kravetz said.

The body was found in the surfline, about an eighth of a mile north of where he had jumped in, by a group of teenagers who were on the beach, Kravetz said. The boys went into the water and brought the body ashore, then covered it with a towel, according to police records. They then notified lifeguards, who called Laguna Beach police to the scene, Kravetz said.

According to police records, Burgos-Barrientos was at the beach with a friend when he decided to jump from a nearby cliff, then apparently could not get back to shore in the stiff current.

“Another citizen jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue the man, but he had already gone under the water,” Kravetz said.

The would-be rescuer made it back to shore.

Police, fire and lifeguards, including scuba divers, began an extensive rescue effort, which was called off when darkness made the search efforts very difficult.

The search began about 6:15 p.m. and ended at nightfall, about 8 p.m. The search resumed at 6 a.m. Monday as divers and rescue vessels combed the coastline, but they never found the victim.