Body Found In South Bay Channel Was Girl As Young As 6: Report

CARSON, CA — Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators said Thursday they do not believe the deaths of a young girl and an adult man whose bodies were found a day apart along the Dominguez Channel in Carson are related.

The update came Thursday morning after authorities disclosed that the first body, recovered Tuesday near Victoria Golf Course, was that of a young girl believed to be between 6 and 13 years old.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed the child as unidentified after her body was recovered from the channel, KTLA reported Wednesday night.

The girl had brown hair and brown eyes and was approximately 4 feet 5 inches tall and weighed about 59 pounds, according to the station. Her race and ethnicity and exact age were unknown. Her cause and manner of death had not been released.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators responded shortly after noon Tuesday to the 20000 block of Avalon Boulevard, near Del Amo Boulevard, after receiving a report of a body floating in the Dominguez Channel.

A patron at the nearby Victoria Golf Course spotted the body floating downstream and called emergency services, according to KTLA.

The girl's body was in a severe state of decomposition, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Sheriff's Department. Los Angeles County firefighters removed her body from the channel before she was transferred to the Medical Examiner.

Less than 24 hours later, another body was found along the Dominguez Channel about 7.5 miles to the south.

Sheriff's Department homicide detectives responded to the 2000 block of East Sepulveda Boulevard at 8:31 a.m. Wednesday for a death investigation. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said Thursday that the second victim was a Black man believed to be between 50 and 60 years old. His identity and cause of death remained unknown.

Autopsies were being conducted on both victims, according to KTLA. Despite the proximity and timing of the discoveries, investigators said Thursday they do not currently believe the two deaths are related.

Authorities have not announced whether foul play is suspected in either death. Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.

Click here to read the full KTLA report.

This article has been updated with new information released Thursday by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.