LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A body found on the grounds of a California desert resort hotel has been identified as that of a missing AIG executive who failed to turn up for meetings last week, the sheriff's office said on Friday.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department in a brief statement said the remains found in a small pond at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, about 120 miles (193 km) east of Los Angeles, were those of 33-year-old Omar Arce Meza.

A cause of death had not been established for Meza, who lived in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Diane, sheriff's officials said. They did not say how they believed the body came to be in the pond.

"We are with heavy hearts tonight as we announce the passing of Omar Meza. He was a very loved son, husband, brother and friend," Meza's family said in a statement posted on a Facebook set up to find the missing man.

The Desert Sun newspaper reported that Diane Meza believes her husband was dropped off at the wrong hotel and that surveillance footage showed Omar Meza walking into the hotel, then immediately leaving again.

She said her husband had suffered memory loss after an automobile accident last year that could have led to him become confused and wander off, according to the Desert Sun.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Gunna Dickson)