By Jorge Casuso

May 8, 2023 -- The remains of a man who had been missing for nearly a year and a half were identified Saturday after being found in the courtyard of an abandoned building in Santa Monica last month, police said.

The Los Angeles County Coroner positively identified the remains as those of Beau Mann, the founder and head of Sober Grid, a social mobile networking app for people struggling with substance abuse.

Mann, who was 39 when he was reported missing, “was last seen on November 30, 2021, around 2:00 p.m., at a convenience store, on the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard,” Los Angeles Police said.

An Uber picked him up at the 7-Eleven store in Studio City, and dropped him off in Santa Monica, according to reports.

Beau Mann (LAPD photo)

A Facebook page set up to help search for Mann posted an update from his family on Sunday saying Santa Monica police notified them "that Beau's remains were found in a grassy area about a mile from where an Uber dropped him off. "His identity was confirmed through dental records," according to the post. The coroner's office "took possession of the remains and are currently working to determine the cause of death," said Lt. Erika Aklufi, the spokesperson for Santa Monica Police.

Santa Monica detectives are investigating the case, Aklufi said. She told NBC Dateline on Monday that foul play is not suspected.

According to a May 4, 2022 report on Dateline, Los Angeles police Officer Jill Calhoun, who was assigned to investigate the case, said that LAPD received a 911 text from Mann.

Calhoun said “several attempts were made to contact (Mann) via that correspondence,” but he never responded. She told Dateline that LAPD did nor suspect foul play.

According to Sober Grid's website, Mann created the networking app in 2015 "to provide a sober community that could be accessed anytime, anywhere."

The social network "combines peer support coaching, its online community, digital therapeutics, and a digital library of mental health resources to help individuals achieve long term recovery.

"Our platform removes barriers and tackles the gaps in the continuum of care," according to the site.

Mann told the New York Times shortly after launching the app, that for some users, joining Sober Grid could be a matter of life and death.

“It sounds somewhat dramatic, but it’s realistic,” Mann said. “Some people, their life is dependent on their sobriety. So that need to connect is how people get and maintain sobriety.”

According to Los Angeles police, Mann was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, dark sweatshirt, dark pants and black shoes.

Anyone with any information pertaining to this incident or person(s) involved should call SMPD Detective Ismael Tavera at 310-458-2256, email him at Ismael.tavera@santamonica.gov or call the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8427.