SOUTH COUNTY : Victim Apparently Died by Suffocation

Homicide detectives on Monday were investigating the apparent suffocation death of an unidentified woman whose body was found by hikers north of Ortega Highway near the Orange-Riverside County border, sheriff’s officials said.

The victim, whose body was found Sunday afternoon wrapped in a blanket, appeared to have been dead from one to three weeks, an autopsy revealed Monday. The cause of death appeared to be suffocation, authorities said.

“There were no preliminary signs of sexual abuse,” Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

Hikers found the body off a dirt road in a wilderness area about 4 1/2 miles north of the highway, toward Santiago Peak, he said.

Olson said missing persons reports were being studied to try to identify the victim.

“Efforts are also being made to identify her through fingerprint comparison,” he said.

The victim was described as 25 to 35 years old, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and 114 pounds. She was wearing a pink, long-sleeved cotton sweater, light blue acid-washed jeans, socks and white high-top shoes with rhinestones. She was also wearing jewelry, Olson said.

One week earlier, a passing motorist on Ortega Highway found the body of a young Latino woman. An autopsy found that she had died of multiple stab wounds, but she still has not been identified.

Authorities said they had no information linking the two deaths.