Former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard, who went missing while swimming with his son at Venice Beach over the weekend, was found dead Wednesday morning.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the body along the shoreline at around 1:25 a.m. An investigator with the coroner’s office confirmed the body was Gaspard’s, and the wrestler’s family has been notified, police said.
“The decedent was identified as Shad Gaspard and next of kin was notified,” the police statement said.
Shad Gaspard, 39, went missing Sunday afternoon while swimming with his 10-year-old son at Venice Beach in Los Angeles. His son, Aryeh, was rescued and several other swimmers made it out of the water safely after they were caught in the strong currents.
Gaspard was about 50 yards offshore when a lifeguard saw that a “wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chief Ken Haskett, with the fire department’s Lifeguard Section, told NBC News that the lifeguard tried to pull Gaspard and his son to safety.
“He was going to try to rescue both,” he said. “But the father, in his last few words, said, ‘Save my son.’”
WWE in a statement released on Wednesday said it is “saddened” following the confirmation of Gaspard’s death. It extends its condolences to Gaspard’s family, friends and fans.
Former wrestlers Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Tripple H are among the celebrities that have taken to social media to pay tribute to Gaspard:
My prayers and hope for Shad Gaspard’s wife, son and family during this unthinkable time. Man, this is a tough one. A really tough one.
Great guy.— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 20, 2020
I join fans around the world as we remember Shad Gaspard as a beloved performer and a caring father. In absolutely tragic circumstances, please keep his loved ones in your thoughts. https://t.co/JibfmJJMcC
— Triple H (@TripleH) May 20, 2020
Gaspard is best known for being a member of the wrestling team Cryme Tyme with fellow WWE star JTG, which debuted in 2006. After leaving WWE in 2010, he pursued an acting career and has appeared in films “Think Like a Man Too” and “The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time”.
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