Local News in Brief : Irvine : Autopsy Fails to Find Cause of Marine’s Death

An autopsy has failed to reveal what caused the death of a 25-year-old El Toro Marine Corps sergeant whose body was found floating in a lake in Irvine.

The body of Sgt. Michael John Friedle was found Tuesday evening in South Lake at Woodbridge, about 30 feet offshore, next to a gazebo along Alton Parkway, Irvine police said.

The body was clad only in underwear, but a deputy coroner said there is no evidence of foul play. She said that preliminary results of an autopsy did not reveal the cause of death and that further tests will be conducted.

Officials searched the lake after an unidentified man called police about 6 p.m. Tuesday and reported seeing a body in it. The body appeared to have been in the recreational lake, which is surrounded by homes and a beach club, for about 3 days, authorities said.

Friedle, of Coal City, Ill., arrived at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in January, 1986, from Kansas City, Mo. He was assigned to the Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron, which maintains and supplies aircraft, according to Sgt. Steve Short, a spokesman for the air station.

Friedle, who was not married, joined the Marines in 1984 in Chicago, Short said.

The Corps is not involved in the Irvine police investigation, Short said.