Body of a man inside a barrel washes up on a Malibu beach 

The body of a man was found inside a barrel on Monday morning after it washed up on a Malibu beach, reported the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. 

A lifeguard patrolling the Malibu Lagoon State Beach, west of Malibu Pier at 23200 Pacific Coast Highway came across a 55-gallon drum floating in the water at around 10:30 a.m. He swam out into the ocean and brought it to shore. 

After examining the plastic barrel and discovering its shocking contents, the lifeguard called the sheriff’s department to report it. 

Deputies arrived at the scene and pulled the barrel ashore and removed the body of the man from within. 

Details of what led to the man’s death or his identity were not immediately available. It is also unclear how long the barrel was in the ocean. 

The barrel was first spotted by sanitation workers on Sunday, who brought it to shore. 

"They got in a kayak and went out to get it, brought it to shore," said Lt. Hugo Raynaga with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "Apparently it was too heavy and they didn't want to open it and they left it on shore."

At around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the barrel was dragged back into the water by the high tides. Leading to the lifeguard’s discovery the next day. 

Homicide detectives are investigating the death, said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department technician A. De La Torre. 

"California State Parks is working closely with the lead investigative entity on the incident — Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department," he said.

Investigators closed off a small section of the beach. However, the rest of the beach would remain open to the public, state parks spokesperson Jorge Moreno told NBC News in an email.