Body of Martial Arts Instructor Discovered

The body of a Canyon Country woman was found by searchers Thursday after she was reported missing earlier that morning, authorities said.

The victim was identified as Veronica Estrada, a 29-year-old Tae Kwan Do instructor, who was last seen walking home from work on Soledad Canyon Road near Camp Plenty Road about 9:30 Wednesday night, said Deputy Angie McLaughlin, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.

Estrada’s body was found about 12:15 p.m. underneath a clump of bushes next to the roadway by co-workers who aided in the search, McLaughlin said. Helicopters were also used in the search, she said.

Homicide investigators suspect foul play, but there were no “obvious signs of trauma” to indicate how she died, McLaughlin said. The cause of the death will be determined by a coroner’s autopsy.

Estrada was employed at Ken Luis Tae Kwan Do, a martial arts studio in Canyon Country, McLaughlin said.