Updated at 11:10 a.m., Jan. 16, 2015
An investigation was continuing Friday into the death of a Los Angeles financial services executive whose body was found in Palm Desert about a week after he disappeared.
The body of Omar Arce Meza, 33, was found Thursday in a pond at the J.W. Marriott Resort and Spa. Riverside County Sheriff’s officials verified today that the body was Meza, but no information was released on a cause of death.
Meza’s family Thursday night confirmed Meza’s death with a post on Facebook.
“We are with heavy hearts tonight as we announce the passing of Omar Meza. He was a very loved son, husband, brother & friend,” said an entry posted around 8:30 p.m. Thursday on the Find Omar Meza community page.
The body was found around 2:15 p.m. Thursday in one of the ponds at the resort in the 74800 block of County Club Drive.
Crews had been scouring the resort grounds for four days with dive teams and search dogs in hopes of finding Meza, a vice president for AIG Financial Distributors. Meza had traveled to the Coachella Valley on business. Business clients, friends and family all took part in the search effort.
Meza’s wife, Diane, said she spoke to her husband around 11:20 p.m. Jan. 8, as he left a dinner with colleagues in Palm Desert, and he said he would call her when he returned to his room. That call never came.
Meza was reported missing around midday a week ago today after he failed to show up for scheduled meetings that morning.
The search was taken up by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department the next day, Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Brewster said. But Desert Search and Rescue members with bloodhounds scoured the surrounding area without success, he said.
—City News Service