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Body Found near Train Tracks

[UPDATE] The 33-year-old man marks the second East Beach homeless death in two weeks.

[UPDATE]: Sheriff’s spokesperson Kelly Hoover has confirmed the victim’s name and identity. He is Jason Messerschmidt, a Santa Barbara County street person.

Original Story:

The body of an apparently homeless 33-year-old man was found at 6:55 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, along the train tracks near South Milpas Street, said city police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood. During a welfare check, an officer found the man “obviously deceased” and lying face down next to his belongings just south of the railroad tracks in a popular cut through from S. Milpas to Calle Cesar Chavez, said Harwood.