Coroner Has Been Kept Busy in the Malibu Area

• Unusually High Number of Fatalities

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

Last week, the Malibu community was rocked by the news of a double fatality on Kanan Dume Road, the discovery of human skeletal remains at Tapia Park, and the death of 21-year-old Joshua Feinberg, an alumnus of Agoura Hills High School who reportedly jumped to his death from the top of Rindge Dam in Malibu Canyon.

Malibu Search and Rescue crew members were able to assist a second man at the scene, who was trapped on a ledge above the 10-story dam when he reportedly rushed to the location after receiving a text message about suicide from Feinberg.

Feinberg's body was retrieved the next morning from the bottom of the ravine. The contents of a suicide note, discovered in the dead man's abandoned vehicle, have not been released.

A second suicide occurred on Piuma Road near Cold Canyon this Monday, when Agoura Hills High School student Dan Behar, 17, reportedly drove his vehicle off the canyon road and into the ravine.

The crash sparked a small fire, which was rapidly contained, according to fire officials. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. It was unclear if the crash or the fire was the cause of death.

On Sunday, a young male Malibu resident drove off the road on Malibu Canyon and over the edge of the canyon. The victim's vehicle reportedly was stopped by a boulder, and did not fall all the way to the bottom of the ravine.

The victim was described as having sustained scrapes and bruises but he was able to extricate himself from the vehicle.

On Monday afternoon, Los Angeles County Lifeguards retrieved a body on the beach that had been observed floating in the water off Westward Beach.

The dead man was described as being in his 40s or 50s, and was attired in black shorts or swim trunks. The coroner's office has not yet released a cause of death.

A Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau representative told the Malibu Surfside News that the investigation is ongoing.

He confirmed that there are no missing person reports that matched the victim's description, and that the man's fingerprints do not appear in law enforcement databases.