drowned student's toxicology tests show high alcohol level

An update on the death of UC Riverside student Alan Lin, who went missing in early February before his body was found a week later floating in Newport Bay. His lungs were full of fluid, and the coroner concluded he died of salt-water drowning, but toxicology tests show that he had an unusually high amount of alcohol in his system: Tests show high alcohol level in drowned student.

According to test results, which were released last week, Alan had a blood-alcohol level between 0.16 and 0.19. According to government blood-alcohol charts, a man his size would typically need seven or eight alcoholic drinks in an hour to reach that level, and it's likely he would have been "confused and dizzy, slurring his speech and having trouble walking."

The police investigation is still ongoing, but Alan's family is still looking for answers about the night of his death. His sister indicated that that it was unusual for Alan to drink that much, and alluded to some kind of argument or altercation that happened at the Newport Beach bar where he was last seen:

"There's just still a lot of unanswered questions," said Lin's sister, Christine. "The family is still looking for answers."

She said it was "very unusual" for Alan to drink so much.

Alan had been at a birthday party at Rudy's Pub & Grill on the night he disappeared. He had left his car in Irvine and caught a ride with other partygoers, even though he didn't know most of them.

His sister said Alan may have gotten involved in an argument between other members of the group, based on accounts she has heard from other partygoers. A surveillance camera captured him leaving the bar, apparently alone, around 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning. His body was found in the water nearby eight days later.

Christine Lin questions whether anybody followed her brother out and saw what happened to him that night. "I don't believe he was alone," she says.

Alan Lin was about to graduate from UC Riverside with a degree in mechanical engineering, and had already lined up a job with an aerospace-parts firm. Whether this was just a terrible accident, or if foul play was involved, it's a tragedy. Anyone with further information about his death is asked to call police at 800-550-NBPD. Tips can be left anonymously.