National And World News

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― An autopsy scheduled for Monday may shed some light on the death of USC place kicker Mario Danelo, who was found dead at the bottom of a cliff in San Pedro.

"There's no crime," Los Angeles police officer Mike Lopez said. "It was either an accident or a suicide."

Danelo apparently fell off the cliff sometime early Saturday, but the body was not found until about 4:30 p.m. when someone flying a remote-control plane noticed his body about 150 feet down a cliff. The spot, near the Point Fermin Lighthouse, is only about a mile from his family's home.

The 21-year-old junior in sociology was the Trojan's starting place kicker the past two seasons. He recently kicked two field goals to help USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Autopsy results can take anywhere from three to five days, according to a coroner's office investigator. It can take weeks, however, to get the results of toxicology tests, which detect the presence of alcohol or drugs.

USC Sports Information Director Tim Tessalone said no memorial plans had been as of Sunday afternoon.

Police said they had information that Danelo had been out with friends Friday night and was last seen about midnight.

Friends left candles and flowers by a sign near where Danelo fell, one that warned of the dangers of treading too near the cliff. Someone spray-painted "Rest in peace Danelo." A USC flag was left at the site.

Coach Pete Carroll said he was stunned by the news.

"This is a great loss. Mario was a wonderful young man of high character and he was one heck of a kicker," he said. "He was a key ingredient in our success these past few years."

The former San Pedro High School star was a walk-on who later earned a scholarship, along with USC's starting place kicker position in 2005 and 2006.

He received All-Pac-10 honorable mention both seasons.

"From then on, everything seemed to go in a real positive direction," Danelo was quoted as saying in the school's media guide. "I got the scholarship, then I got the starting spot. It all happened real fast. It was all good things that were going on."

In his career, he hit 26 of 28 field goals, including a streak of 15 in a row, and 127 of 134 extra points.

This past season he hit 15 of 16 field goals and was 44 of 48 on extra points.

In 2005, he set NCAA season records for extra points made (83) and attempted (86). His 10 extra points made against Arkansas was a USC game record. He also was 11 of 12 on field goals.

Danelo's 26-yard first-quarter field goal opened the scoring in USC's 32-18 victory over Michigan in Monday's Rose Bowl Game. He kicked another 26-yard field goal in the third quarter, but missed two of his four extra point attempts.

Danelo was mentioned on the CBS late night talk show "Late Show with David Letterman" Thursday. Letterman's list of "Top Ten Signs You're Watching Too Much College Football," was topped by "In bed, your wife says, `Get a Trojan' - you come back with USC kicker Mario Danelo."

The 5-foot-10-inch, 185-pounder was the son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo, who played for Washington State (1972-74) before kicking in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers (1975), New York Giants (1976-82) and Buffalo Bills
(1983-84).

"When you are younger, you always want to be like your pop, and my pop was a kicker, so it was something I naturally got into from there," he said in the media guide.

Danelo is the second USC athlete to die in the past eight months.

Basketball point guard Ryan Francis was fatally shot last May 13 in Baton Rouge, La.

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