Body in Santa Ana River identified

A body found Jan. 27 floating in the Santa Ana River near Huntington Beach has been identified as a 20-year-old Santa Ana man.

Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said a pair of fishermen found the body of Johnny Sandoval at 2:05 p.m. An autopsy was conducted the following morning, but toxicology results are still pending, Amormino said.

Sandoval’s death, he said, didn’t have any signs of foul play.

“There’s nothing suspicious,” Amormino said. “He either intentionally jumped in or voluntarily went in swimming. There’s no notes or anything to indicate either way, so we may never know what happened.”

Sandoval’s body had no obvious signs of trauma and may have been in the water for several days, Amormino said. A missing person report was filed with the Santa Ana Police Department a few days before he was found. Amormino said he didn’t know if the storms had played a role in Sandoval’s death, but wouldn’t rule it out.

— Michael Miller