Former Congressional intern found dead in California river

The body of a man found in California's Dominguez Channel was identified as Elgin Stafford, a former intern of U.S. Rep. Karen Bass...

TheGrio Staff

Apr 3, 2012

The body of a man found in California’s Dominguez Channel was identified as Elgin Stafford, a former intern of U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and a graduate student at the University of Southern California. Police have released no information on the circumstances that led up to Stafford’s death. The Huffington Post reports:

Stafford, 23, grew up in Carson and was raised by his parents, who had previously emigrated to the U.S. from Sierra Leone. After graduating from Carson High School and then UC Berkeley, Stafford enrolled in a public policy program at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in Fall 2011. Stafford was working on a master’s degree in public diplomacy. For reasons not yet known, he withdrew from the school in January.

“We are very sad to learn about the death of Elgin Stafford. He was an important member of the Trojan Family and our hearts and prayers go out to his family,” said Michael Jackson, Vice President for Student Affairs at Annenberg.

“Every student is very precious to us and has great potential,” Jackson said. “We are sorry that Elgin’s life journey has ended in such a tragic way. We will do our best to support his family, friends and the Annenberg school community during this difficult period.”