SANTA CRUZ, CA — The body of Shireen Ahsan, a 19-year-old has been found in Wilder Ranch State Park near Santa Cruz, CA. Shireen Ahsan, a student who went missing after being swept into the sea on January 18. A mountain biker first spotted the body on remote Strawberry Beach about 5:45 pm. Ahsan’s family was notified shortly after the identification was completed next day, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Lt. Bob Payne.
The search for one of her companion that day, 25-year-old Solaiman Nourzaie of San Jose, continues with watercraft and aircraft. Sheriff’s Lt. Todd Liberty said Ahsan’s body was discovered when the mountain biker, cycling the coast trail above Strawberry Beach, noticed what appeared to be human remains below. He alerted authorities and emergency personnel, who responded to the scene.
Ahsan’s body was retrieved about 7:30 pm. in one of the least-visited parts in Wilder Ranch State Park. A mountain bike trail runs along its lip, and a remote trail cuts down to the beach and through nearby agricultural fields.
Ahsan and Nourzaie were part of a group of five students who climbed down a rope to reach a rocky outcrop south of Bonny Doon Beach on January 18. In 10- to 15-foot surf, Ahsan, Nourzaie and another man were swept off a rock into the ocean. The other man made it to shore uninjured, but Ahsan and Nourzaie disappeared into the sea.