A fisherman found the body of a Santa Monica High School teacher on Sunday, on the shore of a beach in Panama. According to the late teacher’s mother, the body washed ashore three days after a wave swept him out to sea while he was walking in shallow water.

The fisherman discovered Joey Lutz’s body at Playa Wizard, a beach town in the Bocas del Toro islands in northern Panama, where the teacher had been spending his holiday. The finding hastily brought the hopes of Lutz’s family and friends to an end.

Joey Lutz was aged 25 and he had been an English teacher for three years at Santa Monica High School, where he was very admired by his students and colleagues. He also was a usual contestant of the school’s talent show, according to Principal Hugo Pedroza. The teacher’s father, Stuart, identified the body on Sunday and lost any hope regarding his son’s survival in Thursday’s unexpected disaster.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Lutz’s mother, Freda, informed that her son had traveled all over the world and enjoyed spending time outdoors. Furthermore, Freda Lutz reported that Joey had left California on June 30 and that he had only one vacation week to go before returning when he was swallowed by a large wave and carried out to sea.

The English teacher graduated from Culver City High School eight years ago, before earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UC Santa Cruz.

“There are teachers who can teach you the subject matter because they know it. He was much more than that. He felt a passion for what he was conveying to students,” Principal Hugo Pedroza said.