Matthew Perry Death, Coroner Arrives to Remove Body, Launch Investigation

The Matthew Perry death investigation is underway after the L.A. County Coroner arrived at his home to begin the autopsy process.

The coroner's large white van pulled up Saturday evening outside the Pacific Palisades home where Matthew was found dead earlier that day. Several members of the coroner's team rolled the body out on a stretcher and placed it in the van.

As TMZ first reported ... Matthew's assistant discovered him unresponsive in a hot tub, and our sources say the death appears to be the result of drowning. While there were no illicit drugs found on the scene, we're told there were some prescription drugs found in the house.

The coroner's office will perform toxicology testing, in addition to the autopsy, to determine cause of death, and if any substances were in Matthew's system at levels that could have harmed him.

In a grim scene ... Matthew's mother, father and stepfather were also at the house Saturday, a few hours after he passed.

Perry shared a post less than a week prior to his death that raised no eyebrows at the time, but seems eerie now -- it's a Shot of himself sitting in the corner of the hot tub at night, looking out at the city lights.

He captioned the image ... "Oh, so warm water swirling around makes you feel good? I'm Mattman."