Desperate Family Scrapes Together $5,000 Reward for Missing Laguna Hills Woman

The family of a 27-year-old Laguna Hills woman who’s been missing since mid-February announced today a $5,000 reward for information that helps locate her.

Erica Alonso’s family raised $3,000 on their own over the past several weeks, and an Orange County sheriff’s deputy chipped in $2,000, said Lt. Jeff Hallock.

Alonso was last seen leaving her boyfriend’s home in Irvine about 3:45 a.m. on Feb. 15.

On March 25, Alonso’s white 2014 Honda Civic EX was found near Cedarbrook and Redwood in the Glenwood Park neighborhood, which is about a mile from her home, according to Hallock.

Her 28-year-old sister, Erica Melissa Alonso, choked back tears as she spoke to reporters in February about her sibling’s disappearance.

“Erica is my sister, my best friend,” she said. “It’s very unlikely for her not to contact us.”

Margarita Alonso said then that her missing daughter “was always a good girl; she was always in contact with us. That’s why we started suspecting (something was wrong) when the next day, and the following day, she never called us or texted us or anything.”

The missing woman went out on a date with her on-again, off-again boyfriend on Feb. 14, and they met friends at the Sutra nightclub in Costa Mesa, according to Hallock.

Patricia Alonso said her sister met the boyfriend, who is in his 40s, for a lunch date that went into overtime. The sisters had planned to spend Valentine’s Day night together watching “cheesy movies.” She said she found out her sister was at Sutra when she received a “Snapchat” update from her.

The missing woman “befriended” another couple at the club and the four left together about 1:30 a.m. Feb. 15 to continue partying at Alonso’s companion’s home near Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue in Irvine, Hallock said.

Alonso and her date took a cab to Sutra, and she talked her new friends into giving her and her date a ride to his home, where they continued to party. But Alonso and her boyfriend got into an argument and the other couple left about 3:45 a.m., Hallock said.

Alonso left her boyfriend’s home about 15 minutes later, and there has been no trace of her since, Hallock said.

There is no indication Alonso was depressed or had any other issues, he said.

Investigators sought out the woman’s boyfriend because he appears to be the last person to have seen her, Hallock said. Everything he has told detectives has “checked out,” Hallock said.

Alonso and her boyfriend had dated for about two years before they broke up, according to her sister, who said the two continued to see each other and were working on their relationship.

Alonso, who lived with her mother and sister, is described as Latina, about 5 feet 3 and 110 pounds, with long brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts was urged to call (714) 647-7000, or (714) 647-7055. Anonymous tips may be made through Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS.

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City News Service

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