Autopsy Does Little to Solve Mystery of Laguna Woman Whose Body Was Found by Caltrans Workers

Results of today’s autopsy on human remains - - believed to be those of a 27-year-old Laguna Hills woman missing since February -- were inconclusive, and authorities were awaiting the results of toxicological testing.

No obvious signs of violence were found on the body, Orange County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock. The tests could take six to eight weeks for results to be available.

Biologists working for Caltrans found the body about 10 p.m. Monday in a remote area of the Cleveland National Forest, one mile east of the San Juan Capistrano Fire-Ranger station on Ortega Highway, near Hot Springs Road, according to Hallock.

Authorities tentatively identified the victim as Erica Alonso but were awaiting an analysis of fingerprints to confirm the identity, Hallock said.

“Preliminarily, we were able to do a visual,” he said. “There are some tattoos, that we’re able to make comparisons with.

“We are not not able to confirm it, without making comparisons to fingerprints or dental records, but we feel comfortable with the information that we have that it is Miss Alonso,” Hallock told a Los Angeles television station Tuesday.

Alonzo’s father rushed Tuesday to the location where the body was found, about a mile off the highway near a creek. The site is in unincorporated Orange County, with the closest city being San Juan Capistrano.

The Alonso family last week announced a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the woman. There have been tips resulting from that reward, her brother said. Erica Alonso was last seen leaving her boyfriend’s home in Irvine about 3:45 a.m. Feb. 15. Authorities located her white 2014 Honda Civic EX near Cedarbrook and Redwood in the Glenwood Park neighborhood of Aliso Viejo.

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City News Service

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