Ex-WWE star Shad Gaspard found dead on Venice Beach

Ex-WWE star Shad Gaspard was found dead on Venice Beach Wednesday morning, the L.A. County Coroner told TMZ. The body was seen on the beach by a passerby who immediately called the police at 1:30 AM and was recovered near Venice Pier.

The body found matches the description of Gaspard, the L.A. Fire Department said in a news conference on Wednesday. The 39-year-old first went missing on Sunday afternoon after getting caught in a rip current south of the pier.

According to TMZ, Gaspard was stuck in the current with his 10-year-old son Aryeh, and told lifeguards to focus on rescuing him first, but when they returned to rescue Gaspard he had disappeared. Law enforcement authorities searched far and wide for Gaspard before they suspended their search after two days.

Gaspard rose to fame in the WWE as one half of the tag team group Cryme Time, along with his partner, JTG. He left the organization in 2010 and went on to have small roles in film and TV including a part in the 2015 comedy “Get Hard" and 2018 Marvel film "Black Panther."