Major League Baseball

Long Beach player found dead in creek

Published Dec. 15, 2009 10:43 p.m. ET

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A Cal State Long Beach baseball player who disappeared over the weekend has been found dead in a creek.

Fullerton police Lt. Alex Bastreri says a search and rescue team found James Wernke around 10 a.m. Tuesday in a steep, rain-swollen creek near where he was last seen walking his girlfriend's dog. Bastreri says rescuers assume Wernke fell into the creek bed. There were no immediate signs of trauma.

Wernke was a 21-year-old nursing major at Santa Ana College and had just landed a baseball scholarship at Cal State Long Beach.

He disappeared Saturday while walking a yellow Labrador retriever, which remains missing.

The coroner's office must make a formal identification.

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