A body found in a drainage area near San Clemente High School has been identified as a 22-year-old man who was reported missing earlier this month, authorities confirmed Sunday.
Nicholas Stevens had been sought — by homicide investigators, air support, and search and rescue personnel — since he was last seen Nov. 6 at a 7-Eleven in the 1800 block of North El Camino Real, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
A sheriff’s search and rescue K-9 team found a body about 12:30 p.m. Saturday in a flood-control channel between a McDonald’s and San Clemente High’s baseball field. Officials from the Orange County Coroner Division responded to the scene and subsequently identified the deceased person as Stevens, said Victoria Reichardt, a spokeswoman for the agency.
The case was being investigated as a suspicious death, but the manner in which Stevens died has not been determined, the Sheriff’s Department said. An autopsy was pending.