The body of 20-year-old UCSB student Sierra Markee-Winkler was discovered at approximately 7 a.m. Sunday morning on the beach below the 6800 block of Del Playa Drive, according to local officials now investigating the incident.

Isla Vista Foot Patrol and Santa Barbara County Fire Department personnel responded to the scene minutes after a bicyclist found her and reported the emergency, according to a statement from Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Kelly Hoover. Markee-Winkler was declared deceased upon arrival.

A cause of death has not been identified and will be determined in the coming weeks pending a coroner’s examination and an investigation by the County Sheriff’s Office.

“The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death,” according to a press release. “The exact cause and manner of death will not be determined for several weeks and is pending a coroner’s investigation.”

Markee-Winkler was a second-year double major in language, culture and society and philosophy and was from Eureka, California.

Anyone with information about the incident is advised to contact the Isla Vista Foot Patrol at 805-681-4179.

[This article will be updated as more details become available.]

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, May 5, 2014 edition of the Daily Nexus.

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