California man’s desperate escape from fight ends in fatal fall from California hotel patio

A man in Monterey, California died recently in quite bizarre circumstances. On Mar. 28, just past midnight, Monterey police were sent to the 600 block of Cannery Row to break up a fight between two people. One of them managed to run away from the scene, only to be found dead the next morning on a rocky beach overlooking the Plaza Hotel.

California has been on an unfortunate run of headlines. There was a man who recently broke into a woman’s house after weeks of stalking her, only to suck her toes. In another city in the state, a woman was found to have killed and buried her ex-boyfriend in her backyard. The state has been having a tough stretch, and it’s understandable why officials would want to tighten security — especially before the administration decides to pick another fight with them. But the administration is probably too busy focusing on the Middle East now, so at the very least, the Golden State can focus on improving everyday issues without having to look over its shoulder.

According to The Independent, the fight broke out around 1:00 a.m. near the Salty Seal Pub. Police responded to the commotion and found one person lying on the ground, having been knocked unconscious. The person who had knocked him out was still at the scene. Officers gave chase, but — again, proving he was athletically gifted — he managed to lose them near 425 Cannery Row.

Police then searched nearby businesses, including the Monterey Plaza Hotel and surrounding areas, but came up empty. Early Saturday morning, someone came into the police station asking whether a relative had been arrested, noting that he had not returned home the previous night.

Police informed the family member that no one matching that description had been taken into custody, but they requested assistance from the Fire Department, including a boat, to help search for the missing person. Later that morning, Monterey police received a promising lead in their search for the man who had fled the scene.

The Plaza Hotel had been reviewing surveillance footage from the night before and found something they believed would be relevant. Officers returned to the hotel, where they were shown footage from around 1:10 a.m. of someone running before jumping over the railing of the hotel’s patio. The patio sits about two feet above a rocky beach below — not exactly a forgiving landing.

Police immediately responded and made their way down to the beach. There, beneath the promenade, they found the person of interest. He was severely injured, and officers attempted to transport him to a nearby hospital. However, he was not able to receive life-saving treatment in time and was pronounced dead.

Detective Wayland Kopp confirmed that police are still investigating the incident before formally closing the case. It’s a tragic situation — made even more devastating by the fact that the family member who came to the station looking for a missing relative was, in fact, searching for the same man who had fled the scene.