A 22-year-old San Diego State student whose body was found in a river in Madrid, Spain after he apparently stumbled away from a nightclub will be memorialized in Encinitas on Sunday.
A memorial service for Austin Bice is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday at the San Dieguito United Methodist Church at 170 Calle Magdalena.
Bice, who was an exchange student at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid, was turned away from La Riveria nightclub in the Puerto del Angel section of Madrid in the early hours of Feb. 26. Friends reported he was turned away for being too drunk and he said that he was walking home.
Police in Spain said Bice was found with his wallet, two cell phones and credit cards in the Manzanares River on March 8, not far from the nightclub. His body was discovered when the water level lowered in the river, according to police, who added that no suspicious marks or bruises were observed.
The death has since been classified as an accidental drowning, though results of toxicology tests were still pending.
Bice graduated from Torrey Pines High School before enrolling at SDSU. An Austin Bice Trust has been set up to fund a scholarship in Bice's name. Donations were being accepted through www.austinbice.com.
