Woman’s body found in search for missing investigator

A woman’s body has been found just outside Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville, where authorities were searching for a missing Oakland woman who vanished.

Police have not identified the body or calculated a possible age for the woman, said Daryl Snedeker, a spokesman for the Solano County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities began searching for Sandra Coke, 50, late Thursday night in the area of the Solano County Fairgrounds in Vallejo, said Johnna Watson, a spokeswoman for the Oakland Police Department.

After receiving new information, the search was shifted to Lagoon Valley Park on Friday afternoon.

On Tuesday, authorities arrested Randy Alana, 56, on an “unspecified parole violation,” according to Watson. Alana, a registered sex offender, is considered to be “a person of interest” in the missing person case because he was seen with Coke the night she disappeared, Watson said.

Alana and Coke had dated briefly more than 20 years ago, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Alana has a prior conviction for kidnapping with intent to commit rape, according to court records obtained by the Chronicle. He has also been previously charged with two homicides, but was acquitted in one and pleaded no contest to another, the paper reported.

Alana is being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, Calif., without bail, according to Alameda County inmate records online. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 16.

Coke is a criminal defense investigator who works for the federal defender’s office.

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