[Smithy]

Retired professional surfer Chris Brown was found dead last Saturday on a California beach and his body identified earlier this week, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department. He was 48.

Police spokesman Anthony Wagner told local media outlets that Brown's cause of death remains open, and foul play had not been ruled out.

His body was discovered below the bluffs of the Douglas Family Preserve near Arroyo Burro Beach County Park in Santa Barbara.

Brown, who worked as a commercial urchin diver at the time of his death, is best known for his teenage years when he surfed in the professional circuit as a World Tour competitor. According to Surfer Magazine, Brown won the world amateur surfing title in 1988 and the Professional Surfing Association of America (Bud Pro Tour) championship in 1994.

Legendary surfer Kelly Slater, who called Brown a close friend and rival during the sport's rise in the early 1990s, posted a tribute for Brown. 

"This guy was just such an excited, happy light in my childhood," Slater wrote, adding he and Brown were "nearly inseparable as teenagers."

Sad