March 31, 2026 – Monterey Police Department officials report that in the early morning hours of Saturday, 
March 28, 2026, around 1:09 a.m., Monterey Police Department officers were conducting area checks in the 600 block of Cannery Row. Officers observed a fight involving two individuals near the Salty Seal Pub. As they approached, they saw a person on the ground who appeared to have been knocked unconscious during the altercation.
The other person involved ran from the scene, and officers pursued him but lost sight of him near 425 Cannery Row. They searched the businesses around 425 Cannery Row, the Monterey Plaza Hotel, and the surrounding areas, but were unable to find the suspect. Meanwhile, other officers investigated the assault in the 600 block of Cannery Row. The Pacific Grove Police Department responded to assist with crowd control. The assault victim was taken to a local hospital and was later released. The victim did not wish to provide information about the incident to the MPD.
On Saturday, March 28, 2026, at approximately 8:14 a.m., the MPD responded to the Plaza Hotel at 400 Cannery Row after hotel staff reviewed video from the night before and observed a subject jumping over the railing of a Plaza patio sometime around 1:10 a.m. The railing is estimated to be about two stories high from the beach, with rocks below. Around the same time, a subject came to the MPD inquiring whether a relative had been arrested, as the relative had not returned home from the previous night. The MPD informed the subject that his family member had not been arrested.
The MPD requested that the MFD fireboat assist in searching for the subject. At approximately 11:53 a.m., the subject was located some distance from where he would have fallen, beneath the promenade. He was transported to a local hospital and later died there.
This investigation remains ongoing, and members of the public with any relevant information about this incident are encouraged to contact Detective Wayland Kopp at (831) 646-3809. Anonymous tips can be submitted via (831) 646-3840
Source: Monterey Police Department
