WWE have confirmed the death of former WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard, who went missing while swimming with his son over the weekend.
"WWE is saddened to learn that former WWE Superstar Shad Gaspard has passed away at the age of 39," the organization wrote on Twitter.
Earlier today, a body matching the description of Shad Gaspard was discovered this morning at Venice Pier, NBC News reports.
The discovery was made around 2:19AM local time, according to a tweet by the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Lifeguard Division. The body "matches the description of Sunday’s missing swimmer," the tweet read.
Yesterday, as reported by CBR News, the LAPD called off the search for Gaspard after he went missing while swimming with his son on Sunday.
WWE Superstar and friend of Gaspard, Hassan Hamin Assad - more commonly known by his ring name MVP - yesterday tweeted out the following message to his followers:
"Tweeted at the request of Shad's family. @Shadbeast's family appreciates all the love, support, and concern through this horrible ordeal. At this time they are not ready to make any public or official statements to any media outlet And ask all to respect their wishes."
As reported by TMZ, officials had started desperately searching for Gaspard after he went missing during a swim with his 10-year-old son at Venice Beach.
Gaspard and his son were among a group of swimmers caught in a strong rip current around 4:00PM local time, resulting in lifeguards racing into the water to pull everyone out.
In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the LAPD said that the former WWE wrestler was about 50 yards offshore when a lifeguard saw that a "wave had crashed over Mr. Shad Gaspard and he was swept out to sea."
"He was last seen wearing black and gray shorts and has tattoos on his right shoulder and left chest," police added.
The photograph below - shared by Gaspard's wife on her Instagram story - was taken the day of his disappearance:
Gaspard's son was rescued, but the 39-year-old professional wrestler could not be located. His son did not require hospital treatment.
Per TMZ, an official working with the Los Angeles Fire Department told media they believe Gaspard "did submerge".
Divers were deployed to scour the area, and helicopters were scrambled to search the waters from above.
One witness at the scene tells us told TMZ that when lifeguards raced into the ocean, Gaspard instructed them to rescue his son first, which they did. They added that during the rescue, another big wave crashed down on Gaspard, and that was the last time he was seen.
Gaspard is perhaps best known for his run with WWE between the years of 2002 and 2010, where he gained popularity in the tag-team Cryme Tyme with partner JTG (pictured below).
Yesterday, JTG - real name Jayson Anthony Paul - shared a tweet Gaspard had sent him back in January:
He hit headlines back in 2016 when he apprehended an armed robber. Per WWE.com, when Gaspard was confronted, a fight ensued, which ended in Shad subduing the suspect outside of the gas station and pinning him to the ground until Coral Springs police arrived to take him into custody.
Our thoughts are with his friends, fans, and family.
