The remains of a tech founder who disappeared a year and a half ago have been found in the yard of an abandoned Santa Monica lot, California authorities said this week.
Beau Mann, 39, was last seen outside a convenience store in Studio City on November 30, 2021. From there, he boarded an Uber and texted 911 less than 10 minutes later, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The grassy lot where his body was found was about a mile from where the Uber was supposed to drop him off.
Investigators discovered the human remains on April 25, after being led to the property by a tipster, according to a Monday release from the Santa Monica Police Department. The body was positively identified as Mann’s by the Los Angeles County Coroner last Saturday.
A cause of death is still under investigation, police said.
Few details about the case have been released, but a Santa Monica Police Department spokesman said so Los Angeles Times that Mann’s death was being viewed as a possible homicide, with investigators circling the “gibberish” text he sent to 911 shortly before his disappearance. Several attempts were made by authorities to contact Mann who did not respond, the spokesman said.
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The Uber driver was not considered a suspect in the case, but investigators planned to speak to him, according to the spokesman. An Uber representative told NBC News last year that no incident had been reported to the company.
Mann was the creator and CEO of an app called Sober Grid, a platform designed to help people recover from addiction. In his recovery himself, Mann wanted to help others stay sober, according to his fiancé Jason Abate.
“I don’t want to sound overly dramatic, but he kind of changed the world,” Abate told NBC News last May, a month before he and Mann planned to wed.
“Today is a sad day for the Sober Grid community,” the company said Monday in a Facebook post commemorating its “beloved founder” and his “bright smile and endless energy and compassion.”
“Put simply — Beau was our light,” the post continued. “After an experience in his early years with drugs and addiction, he turned his focus and passion to helping others.” It noted that the app “has saved thousands of lives and will no doubt save thousands more.”
On Monday, Abate tearfully told KNBC: “He was just so wonderful. I’ve never felt more love in my life than when I was with Beau.”
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