Police believe body to be missing man

Police believe a body found in a San Diego alley this morning to be that of a Costa Mesa-based company employee who went missing early Saturday.

Dane Williams, 23, was last seen by colleagues about 2 a.m. Saturday after attending a trade show at the Marriott hotel in downtown San Diego. This morning about 6:30 a.m., a motorist informed police of a body lying in a nearby alley, and Lt. Kevin Rooney said the body matched Williams’ physical description.

“We do believe it to be Dane Williams,” he said. “We have not confirmed it through fingerprints, but based on comparison of the photo to the decedent and comparing the clothing, which was exactly what Dane was wearing when he disappeared, we believe it to be him.”

The body, Rooney said, showed no visible signs of trauma, and it did not appear that Williams had been assaulted. He added that Williams’ family in Huntington Beach had been notified.

After news of Williams’ disappearance spread Saturday, friends and family members raced to San Diego to post fliers around the downtown area where he was last seen. Joe McElroy, the director of global branding for Hurley, said Williams had worked for the Costa Mesa clothing company for about three months. He described him as a hard worker who had a mellow personality and got along with others.

“He’s always there at work,” McElroy said early today before news of the body emerged. “He’s very friends- and family-focused.”

According to accounts from police and friends, Williams left the bar at the Hard Rock Hotel near the Marriott about 1:30 a.m. McElroy said another Hurley employee met Williams on the street and chatted with him briefly, after which Williams continued walking alone. Monica Munoz, a public information officer for the San Diego Police Department, said he was last seen near the intersection of 6th Avenue and K Street with a group of friends.

Amy Pacheco, a friend who accompanied Williams to the trade show, said she last saw him in the bar at the Hard Rock Hotel. Soon afterward, she called him on his cell phone, and he told her that he was at another bar. Pacheco said she and Williams ended the conversation because she was having difficulty hearing him over the music and crowd noise in the background.

She and a friend returned to the hotel where Williams was staying shortly after 2 a.m., but left when he didn’t show up to let them into his room. Pacheco said she sent Williams text messages several times throughout the night and got no response. At that point, she said, she didn’t feel that anything was wrong.

“The weird part about this whole situation is that that night was like any other night,” she said.

An autopsy is pending Wednesday.