Beau Mann, 39, went missing Nov. 30, 2021, and was found dead April 25, 2023, according to cops. (Image: Los Angeles Police Department)
More than a year after his phone mysteriously texted 911 amid a final Uber ride, police discovered a missing CEO dead, but this leaves more questions than answers as his cause and manner of death remain unknown. How did Beau Mann, who was 39 when he disappeared in late 2021, die? That remains to be seen.
“We were notified by the Santa Monica, California police this weekend that Beau’s remains were found in a grassy area about a mile from where an Uber dropped him off on November 30, 2021,” his family and friends wrote in a statement posted to Facebook on Monday. “His identity was confirmed through dental records. At this point, we have no further details on what led to his death.”
Officers in Santa Monica said on Monday that they got information on April 25, 2023, about human remains discovered in the courtyard of an abandoned property in the 2900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. The Los Angeles County coroner identified this as Mann.
Cops did not release any information regarding how they believe he died and wound up on that property.
The LAPD previously said Mann last contacted his family through the phone on Nov. 28, 2021. He was last seen Nov. 30, 2021, at around 2:00 p.m. at a convenience store on the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard, they said. An Uber picked him up from the store, which is a 7-Eleven, Los Angeles Officer Jill Calhoun said, according to NewsNation.
Then “according to the ride, he was dropped off in the area of Berkeley Street in Santa Monica,” Calhoun said.
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Mann’s fiancé, Jason Abate, was incredulous. He said no one saw Mann at the Berkeley Street address.
“I just have a very hard time understanding how he could be so close to that drop-off address, and nobody found him or saw him there,” he told NBC Los Angeles in a new report.
Mann had purchased some ice from the 7-Eleven on Ventura Boulevard, indicating he was going home.
“You’re not going to bring a melting bag of ice into an Uber unless you’re going home, and that’s where he was scheduled to go,” Abate said.
He suggested that his fiancé’s disappearance pointed back to the Uber, according to NBC.
Mann’s phone reached 911 via text shortly before his disappearance.
“We can confirm that there was a 911 text that was received at a 911 center dispatch call center and they did make an attempt to contact him to get more clarification on what that request was,” Calhoun said, according to NewsNation. “But there was no response.”
Family and friends have said this was through the Uber emergency app. They suspect foul play.
“His last contact before his phone was turned off was contacting 911 at 2:15 pm through the emergency alert system within the Uber app in a ride he was taking from Studio City, LA to Santa Monica,” they wrote in a March 22, 2022 post. “The driver denies remembering him.”
Family and friends mourned Mann as “a beautiful soul who spent the better part of his life helping others.”
“We miss his infectious smile and positive attitude every day,” they said. “We know his spirit will live on through his company and passion, Sober Grid, as it continues to help those struggling with the grip of addiction.”
Mann co-founded Sober Grid while attending the Sundance Film Festival several years ago. The social networking app was created for sober people to link up and also to find resources to help them recover from addiction. Mann had been candid about his own substance abuse struggles.
“I entered recovery for alcohol and stimulants when I was 24 and have found it very helpful to stay connected to other sober people to help fight my addiction,” he said in a 2019 interview with The Naked Mind, a YouTube channel dedicated to addressing alcohol abuse.
The investigation into his death is ongoing.
“Anyone with any information pertaining to this incident or person(s) involved is strongly encouraged to contact SMPD Detective Ismael Tavera at 310-458-2256, [email protected], or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8427,” Santa Monica cops wrote.
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