The story of Shad Gaspard's disappearance at Venice Beach has ended in tragedy, as a body found on the shore has been identified as the former WWE Superstar. Although the odds of his survival were not likely after Gaspard had vanished in the ocean, many of his family, friends, and fans had been praying for a miracle and hoping for the best. Sadly, a body matching his description had been located on the beach early Wednesday morning, and the Los Angeles County coroner's office has since confirmed Gaspard as the drowning victim. He was 39 years old.

This heartbreaking story began on Sunday when Shad Gaspard paid a visit to Venice Beach along with his wife and son. While out in the water, Gaspard and his son along with other swimmers were swept into deep water by a strong rip current. Rescue workers rushed out to save them, and although they had reached Gaspard, the wrestling superstar directed them to make sure his son was safe first. Gaspard's son was then safely pulled from the water, but another large wave reportedly crashed down on Gaspard before lifeguards could make it back out to him. Gaspard went under, and wasn't seen again until his body washed ashore.

Between 2006 and 2010, Gaspard worked as a fan favorite wrestling superstar in WWE. Partnering with JTG, the pair made up the highly entertaining tag team Cryme Tyme, providing some of the most memorable segments on WWE television during that era. After departing WWE, Gaspard continued to wrestle in tag team matches for independent promotions along with JTG. He had also moved on to acting, appearing in movies like Get Hard and The Last Sharknado: It's About Time along with TV shows such as Key & Peele and From Dusk till Dawn: The Series. He also provided stunt work for Birds of Prey and other projects.

After Gaspard had gone missing at Venice Beach, his Cryme Tyme partner, JTG, shared an emotional text message sent to him by Gaspard back in January. "If ever I die tomorrow just know I love you as a brother and friend forever, even past this life," Gaspard wrote in the text. Many of Gaspard's other professional wrestling colleagues spoke about the tragedy as well, including wrestler Chris Masters who continued to look for Gaspard on his own after the coast guard officially called off the search. Gaspard's fans from the WWE Universe are also in deep mourning, posting thousands of tribute messages across social media from all around the world.

Gaspard's survivors include his wife, Siliana, and their 10-year-old son. By all accounts, Gaspard was a wonderful person outside of the ring, and at the end, he even went out as a hero by saving his son. We've lost another good one, and Gaspard is already terribly missed. Our thoughts go out to the family along with JTG and all of Gaspard's friends and everyone else in mourning at this time. May he rest in peace. This news comes to us from Fox Los Angeles.