A shocking mystery grabbed the attention of newspaper readers on Tuesday morning, January 16, 1923. “A Young Woman’s Body Found on Beach,” the San Diego Union headlined. “BODY OF PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN CAST UP ON THE WAVES” was the San Diego Sun’s lurid story.

A family picnicking on the beach at Torrey Pines had stumbled across a body . . . Had this been an accident? Was it possibly suicide, or even murder?

The story of the Death of the Dancer.