This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
The body of a UC Santa Barbara was found tangled up in the kelp yesterday morning just below a steep coastal cliff in Isla Vista.
The body was identified as that of 21-year-old David Propp, according to a local ABC affiliate keyt.com. A jogger discovered Propp's body—wearing only green boxers—around 8:42 am Friday morning. Authorities said Propp's injuries suggest that he fell from a cliff, but they're not sure yet what might have caused the fall.
But the local CBS affiliate KCOY notes that fatal falls do happen periodically near the notoriously hard-partying UC campus. In 2009, UCSB student Noah Krom died from falling off a cliff, and so did 22-year-old Tyler Von Ruden in 2005. The news crew happened to find some students who said one of their friends got drunk and ran off a cliff—though he managed to survive.
"There are parties just about every night here, especially on Del Playa," UCSB student Christopher Murphy told KCOY. "The beach is right here. Everyone wants to take a look at it and it's definitely possible for people to get too close."
