The decomposed body of Erica Alonso was stumbled upon late Monday night in a dry creek bed of the Cleveland National Forest preserve by a team of biologists.
The attractive 27-year-old woman -- who herself was the subject of a restraining order lifted only a week before vanishing -- had been missing since an altercation with her ex boyfriend on Valentine’s Day.
He is not considered a suspect in either her disappearance or death.
The grisly discovery of her remains near San Juan Capistrano ends two months of searching for Erica Alonso, but does not put to rest what happened in February, nor if she may have been slain and dumped in the remote woodland where she was finally found dead.
Officials say, because of the condition of that corpse, it was not immediately apparent if there was any evidence of trauma on it, but the forensic investigation continues this week, both at the scene and in the lab.
Alonso’s father, Isaac, is heartsick at the find, stating yesterday, “we never thought it was going to end like this.”
Although his daughter’s cause and manner of death are still unknown, pending an autopsy, he firmly believes she was a victim of foul play, but won’t say by whom yet.
“Whoever did it, I want them to pay. I want justice,” he said, expressing confidence that the presumed killer or killers will eventually be apprehended.
“They’re going to find the guy who did it,” Isaac Alonso predicts.
