FORT BRAGG – A Fort Bragg man was found dead Monday after he is believed to have fallen from a bluff into the ocean while fishing.

The body of 51-year-old Dennis Wade Regusci was found by a friend floating in the ocean near the 40000 block of S. Caspar Drive on Monday, according to a report from Lt. Rusty Noe of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.

Noe said Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene at about 8 a.m. Monday, where they met a friend of Regusci's who had found him at the bottom of a bluff and in the water, unresponsive.

Deputies called Mendocino Fire and Rescue to recover Regusci's body, Noe reported.

The investigation revealed that Regusci had left his home at 4:30 p.m. Sunday to go fishing, according to Noe.

Regusci didn't return home, and the next morning family called the Fort Bragg Police to report him missing, Noe said.

The family friend was contacted and knew where the victim liked to fish, Noe said. The man subsequently went to that location and found Regusci.

Noe said the investigation revealed that Regusci had slipped and fallen into the water. The exact cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy.