While the surfing world mourned the death of Chris Brown early Sunday, Santa Barbara Police were conducting a thorough investigation to determine the identity of a person found dead at Hendry Beach midday Saturday.

This first part of the investigation was only concluded yesterday afternoon, Monday, when the authorities finally reported that it was definitely the surfer Chris Brown.

Meanwhile, the entire surfing community had expressed its sorrow at the surfer's passing. The first to write about the incident on social media were former world champions Shaun Tomson and Peter Towned and free surfer and former CT, Keith Malloy, who shared the news on social media on Sunday morning.

According to local media in Santa Barbara, Chris Brown was found under the easternmost cliff end of the Douglas Family Preserve park. Police spokesman Anthony Wagner stressed that where the body was found “may not be the same place where the person died.”

The authorities also could not confirm whether his death involved a crime or not. They also reported that his fingerprints were what helped identify him because he was found without a wallet.

They also explained that since Saturday they are trying to establish a preliminary cause of death and that they could have news on Monday. In their statement yesterday, they only confirmed the identity and said that they will continue with the investigation to determine the cause of death.

Chris Brown was married with a daughter and was one of the icons of Californian surfing in the late 80s and early 90s. He was the ISA Junior World Champion in 1988, the US Champion in 94 and a member of the CT for three years. He then turned to big wave surfing.

In recent years he has devoted himself to sea urchin fishing.