Fingerprints confirm body was missing woman

Authorities have used fingerprints to confirm that a decomposing body found this week is that of a woman who went missing after a Valentine’s Day date in Costa Mesa, an Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said Thursday.

Officials had used tattoos to preliminary identify the body as 28-year-old Laguna Hills resident Erica Alonso, but certainty came after the county coroner collected the fingerprints during an autopsy Wednesday, sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Hallock said.

Alonso disappeared early Feb. 15 after driving away from the Irvine home of her on-and-off boyfriend after the two had an argument, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

They had gone to the house with another couple after the group had drinks the night before at Sutra Lounge, a Costa Mesa nightclub.

On Monday morning, biologists working for the California Department of Transportation discovered Alonso’s decomposing body in a remote area of Cleveland National Forest off Ortega Highway near San Juan Capistrano, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Wednesday’s autopsy was unable to determine the cause of death and found no obvious signs of physical trauma. Officials are running further tests.

Hallock said his department is investigating the case as it would a homicide, but he said it’s still unclear whether Alonso’s death was accidental or deliberate.

Alonso’s family had raised funds to offer a $5,000 reward for leads on her whereabouts but is now raising money for a memorial service through the website giveforward.com.

— Veronica Rocha and Joseph Serna of the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.