Sean McMinn
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Biomedical engineering rising senior Stefan Wagner was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and a psychedelic drug when he drowned in San Luis Obispo County this summer, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department.
Wagner was first reported missing on June 20, just weeks after the end of spring quarter. He dove into the water at Montaña de Oro State Park against the wishes of his friends, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. When he failed to come back up above the surf, his friends called 911.
People walking in the area found his body eight days later.
Though San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s spokesperson Tony Cipolla said the coroner’s office does not usually release the concentration of substances found in the autopsy, he noted that the psychedelic drug Wagner had used, 2C-E, is not commonly used by Cal Poly students.
“I’ve never heard of it … I was talking with the coroner’s investigators and they’re saying it is fairly new to this area,” Cipolla said. “This is the first case they’ve had to deal with involving the drug.”
Wagner’s parents described their son as “engaged with life,” “charismatic” and “just a really fun, loving, sweet kid.”
“He was fun-loving,” his mother Jill said in an interview with Mustang Daily in June. “He was never a kid that anyone ever would say was depressed. He was polite, kind-hearted, thoughtful, interested in other people. I know I’m his mother, but honestly if you look at his Facebook page, you’ll see everyone saying what a beautiful person he was.”
Though Wagner’s death is still under investigation, coroner’s investigators said the cause of death was “salt-water drowning due to multi-substance intoxication.”
A joint memorial is being planned on campus for Wagner and two others who died this past summer, university spokesperson Matt Lazier said. One is rising physics sophomore Kyle Rhodes and the other is a recent graduate. Lazier did not immediately know the name of the alum or his or her date of death.