Missing AIG executive dead, family says

Omar Meza, an AIG executive from Los Angeles, was last seen Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Security footage shows him entering a Palm Desert, Calif., resort and then leaving right away. His wallet and jacket were found outside the resort.(Photo: Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)PALM SPRINGS — Family and friends of missing AIG executive Omar Meza announced via Facebook Thursday evening that the Los Angeles man has died.Details weren't provided in the post on the "Find Omar Meza" Facebook page, but the family thanked supporters for their search efforts while asking that their privacy be respected as they grieve.A Friday morning press conference with the family has been canceled."We are with heavy hearts tonight as we announce the passing of Omar Meza," the post reads. "He was a very loved son, husband, brother & friend."The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, Thursday night, would not confirm that the body is that of Meza, 33, who was reported missing Jan. 9.Sheriff's officials pulled a man's body from a pond at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs hotel in Palm Desert around 2:15 p.m. PT Thursday. The body was transported to the county Coroner's Office, where a cause of death is being determined.Sheriff's divers had spent several days searching the resort's lakes and ponds earlier this week, assuring family members Meza wasn't there.On Thursday, family members and volunteers spent a second consecutive day searching for Meza. The search was expanded north of Interstate 10 into Thousand Palms and unincorporated Riverside County. Friends and volunteers, who came from as far away as Portland, launched their search about 9 a.m.They began hours after the Sheriff''s Department announced it completed its search.On Thursday morning, Omar's 30-year-old brother, Sven Meza of San Diego, told The Desert Sun he was still confident his brother would be found.Omar Meza, a divisional vice president for AIG Financial Distributors, was in town for a meeting. He was staying at the Courtyard Marriott Palm Desert hotel at Cook Street and Frank Sinatra Drive, and his wife suspects an Uber driver accidentally dropped him off 1.5 miles away at the Desert Springs resort.Meza was reported missing Jan. 9 after missing a meeting. Investigators found his coat and wallet at the Desert Springs, but there was no sign of him.His disappearance received attention from across the country and much speculation over what may have happened."There's no sign he would have a separate life, a separate family," Sven Meza said earlier Thursday, in an attempt to set straight such speculation.Without a net, a look at death defying stuntsJan 15, 2015