A Man smothered to dealth by Sand.

[sfdiva]

(12-14) 11:13 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- A man was found dead at the south end of Ocean Beach this morning, after he apparently was smothered by sand while he slept on the shore, officials said.

A person walking a dog on the beach near Sloat Boulevard about 8:15 a.m. spotted a hand sticking out of the sand and notified authorities, said National Parks spokesman Michael Feinstein.

U.S. Park Police responded and dug out a man in a sleeping bag.

Feinstein said officials from the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office responded and found identification on the body, but the man's name has not been released. He was described as being in his 40s or 50s.

"Most likely what happened is that he was sleeping on the beach and there was a shift in the sand and a slide, and the person was buried," Feinstein said. "This area has a lot of shifting sand."

Feinstein said it is not unusual to find homeless people, sometimes in pairs, sleeping on that portion of Ocean Beach, which is lined by sand dunes. Surfers frequent the water there as well.

He did not know whether the man was homeless, but said officials checked the area around his body to ensure no one else was with him.

Feinstein would not comment on whether the stormy weather and high surf could have contributed to the incident.

[MrScorpio]

1. The Sandman don't Play

[Suich]

2. That's terrible!

I've never heard of that before. Does it happen often?

:hi:

[sfdiva]

3. first time i ever heard it happen n/t

[xchrom]

4. what the hell?!?

i've been to that beach for most of my life -- never heard of anything like that.

[sfdiva]

5. My guess is he was asleep on the bench during the tide n.t