Local News in Brief : Body Identified as Granada Hills Woman

Abody found floating in San Pedro Channel was identified Thursday as that of a 50-year-old Granada Hills woman who had been missing since Christmas Eve, Los Angeles police said.

The body of Margo Barbera was spotted Wednesday afternoon by a Catalina Express helicopter pilot shuttling tourists between Catalina Island and San Pedro, police said. The body was retrieved from the channel about 11 miles south of San Pedro harbor, police said.

Barbera’s family had reported her missing Christmas Eve, Detective Robert Iannessa said. Her car was found 10 days later near Point Mugu in Ventura County, he said. Authorities speculated that she may have entered the water near where her car was parked and that her body may have floated to the spot where it was discovered.

There were no indications of foul play, authorities said. An investigation was continuing, and the Los Angeles coroner’s office had scheduled an autopsy.