Orange County sheriff’s investigators say they have confirmed that a body found in a San Clemente flood-control channel last weekend was that of a 22-year-old man who went missing Nov. 6.
Nick Stevens of San Clemente had recently graduated college and was out for the night with co-workers when he went missing, Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock said. His body was found about 11 p.m. last Saturday in a flood-control channel about a mile from where he was dropped off the night of Nov. 6, Hallock said.
An autopsy was done Tuesday, but the cause of death was pending toxicology tests, which could take up to 12 weeks, Hallock said, adding that investigators do not “believe there is a public safety concern for the community” in regard to Stevens’ death.
Stevens went out drinking with friends from work that night and was apparently too tipsy to remember where he lived, so the person driving him home dropped him off at a 7-Eleven convenience store near his residence, Hallock said.
Stevens was last seen walking away from the store at 1802 N. El Camino Real about 9 p.m., Nov. 6, according to Hallock.
Stevens recently graduated from an East Coast college and found a job in Orange County, Hallock said. He was not depressed or despondent about anything, as far as anyone knows, the lieutenant said.