Federal prosecutor found dead along the beach

A federal prosecutor who worked at the U.S. attorney's office in Miami has been identified as the man found dead on Hollywood beach this week in a case being investigated as a crime.

Hollywood police confirmed the deceased man is Beranton J. Whisenant Jr., 37, and that he may have suffered a head wound caused by a possible gunshot or other type of trauma.

“The investigation is still very preliminary,” Hollywood Police Department spokeswoman Miranda Grossman said, adding that detectives and the Broward medical examiner are “still looking at it.”

Whisenant, who was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2004 after graduating from the University of Florida law school, worked in the major crimes section of the U.S. attorney's office.

The office, which prosecutes criminal and civil cases from Key West to Fort Pierce, could not be reached for immediate comment. An email about Whisenant’s death was circulated among prosecutors and other employees, but it did not comment about the circumstances or cause.

It's unclear where Whisenant actually died. His body was found in the water just south of Magnolia Terrace on Hollywood Beach early Wednesday by a passerby.

“All I can confirm is that it is him,” Grossman said.

Miami Herald staff writer Susan Miller Degnan contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Federal prosecutor found dead along the beach."