At 8:20 a.m. on Saturday, a jogger discovered the body of a young college-aged female in the water around Campus Point.
The body was identified yesterday afternoon by investigators from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office as 18-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student Giselle Ayala.
Ayala was visiting Isla Vista for the annual Deltopia event and was last seen at 11 p.m. on Friday before her friends reported her missing at 7 p.m. the next day, according to a press release.
In a released statement from Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong, Ayala was described as a first-year sociology major from Santa Rosa, California.
“Our thoughts are with Giselle’s family and those members of our community who were close to her,” Armstrong said in an e-mail. “The sudden loss of any student community member can be difficult to understand … In times like these, we ask that all members of our community … exercise the extra care for each other that will help us face this challenge.”
The reason for Ayala’s death is unknown. Criminal Investigation Division detectives of the Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Office are currently undergoing investigation to confirm whether the death was accidental or involved foul play.
—Staff Report