Maribel Ramos - California - LOCATED DECEASED

[LadyBlue]

Autopsy could determine if body found in canyon is missing veteran

The Orange County coroner is expected to perform an autopsy Friday that could determine if a woman's body found in a remote canyon area is that of missing Army veteran Maribel Manriquez Ramos.

The body was found near the intersection of Santiago Canyon and Jackson Ranch roads about 5:15 p.m. Thursday in Orange. An officer was still at the scene Friday morning, an Orange Police Department official said.

For more than a week, Orange police have been searching for Ramos, a former Army sergeant who served in South Korea and Iraq and was just weeks away from graduating from college with a degree in criminal justice.

The Cal State Fullerton student was last seen on surveillance video outside her apartment building about 8:30 p.m. May 2.

Ramos was reported missing a few days later, after she failed to show up at a veterans appreciation dinner at which she was supposed to give a speech.

"We don't have any evidence that would substantiate a crime did occur," Sgt. Fred Lopez previously told The Times.

Although there was no sign of foul play, disappearing without alerting those close to her seemed out of character, he added.

"She would never walk away from commitments, never walk away from family," Lopez said.

Ramos left behind her car and her dog, a Chihuahua mix named Mia, a constant at her side. It appears that she had her cellphone and wallet when she vanished.

According to police, her bank account and credit cards have not been touched.
www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-body-found-may-be-maribel-ramos-20130517,0,2287938.story

[LadyBlue]

Body Found in O.C. Amid Search for Missing Student

Detectives on Friday were investigating the discovery of a body in a remote area of Modjeska Canyon in Orange County, authorities said.

It remained unclear if the discovery might be linked to the disappearance of a Cal State Fullerton student and Army veteran earlier this month.

The body was found on Thursday near Santiago Canyon Ranch and Jackson Ranch Road after residents reported a foul odor in the area.

Authorities were not releasing any additional details.

Modjeska Canyon is located in unincorporated Orange County, but police from the city of Orange went out to perform an investigation, O.C. sheriff’s officials said.

Orange police have been searching for 36-year-old Maribel Ramos for nearly two weeks.

The former Army sergeant, who served in South Korea and Iraq, was just weeks away from graduating with a degree in criminal justice.

Ramos was last seen on surveillance video outside her apartment building around 8:30 a.m on May 2.

She was reported missing a few days later after she failed to show up at a veteran’s appreciation dinner where she was supposed to give a speech.

Although there was no sign of foul play, police said that disappearing without telling those close to her seemed out of character.

Ramos left behind her car and her dog, according to investigators. Her keys, cell phone and wallet were all missing.

Ramos’ bank account and credit cards have not been touched, police said.

Ramos had lived in Orange for two years with her roommate, her sister, Lucy Gonzalez, said.

The roommate told Gonzaelz that Ramos was at the apartment when he left on May 2, and she was gone when he returned home later that day.

Friends have created a Facebook page, “Find Maribel Ramos,” to help in the search.

“A body was discovered last night off of Santiago Canyon but we don’t know if it is Maribel,” a post on Friday morning said. “We don’t expect to know until noon.”

Ramos is 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She has a star tattoo on her shoulder and an Aztec symbol on her back.

Anyone with information or who might have seen Ramos is asked to call the Orange Police Department at [phone].
ktla.com/2013/05/17/vigil-held-for-missing-cal-state-fullerton-student/#axzz2TZ7nluJs

[LadyBlue]

Body found in remote Calif. ID'd as missing woman

A body found in a remote Orange County canyon was identified Friday as a 36-year-old former Army sergeant who has been missing for two weeks, and her former roommate has been arrested, police said.

The body was discovered late Thursday in an unincorporated area near Modjeska Canyon, and after an autopsy Friday it proved to be Maribel Ramos, city of Orange police Lt. Dave Hill said at a news conference.

The investigation then shifted from a missing-persons case to a homicide probe. Ramos' former roommate, K.C. Joy, agreed to talk to detectives and was later arrested and booked into Orange County jail, Hill said. Hill answered no questions and would not elaborate on the evidence against Joy.

Joy gave several media interviews during the search for Ramos and appeared at a candlelight vigil for her Monday night.

"It's very uncomfortable, but I want to be here," Joy told KCAL-TV at the vigil.

Joy told the TV station that police had contacted him up to three times each day since Ramos disappeared, searching their apartment five times and seizing his cellphone and computer. Joy also said he provided DNA and allowed police to photograph him.

Ramos was last seen on surveillance video outside her apartment building May 2. She left behind her car and her dog, a Chihuahua mix named Mia, a constant companion. It appeared that she still had her cellphone and wallet.

She was reported missing the next day after she failed to show up for a softball game and a speaking engagement at a veterans group.

Police initially said there were no signs of foul play, but family and friends said it was out of character for her to suddenly cut ties with them. She was just a few weeks from graduating college with a degree in criminal justice.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/17/calif-body-found/2216727/