Body of Cal State Student Found in Her Car Trunk : Investigation: Cathy Torrez, 20, had disappeared after leaving her part-time job a week ago, prompting a communitywide search. Police found her vehicle parked in a parking lot near a hospital.

Cal State Fullerton honor student Cathy Torrez, whose disappearance a week ago prompted a communitywide search, was found dead in her car early Saturday about a mile from the shopping center parking lot where she was last seen.

Police released little information Saturday, saying only that they were investigating Torrez’s death as a homicide. City Administrator Robert D’Amato said officers patrolling a parking lot near a hospital early Saturday recognized the missing woman’s vehicle and later discovered her body in the trunk.

The victim’s arms showed signs of a struggle, D’Amato said.

“You expect the worst but you hope,” said Albert Gonzales, a friend who acted as a spokesman for family members, who remained inside their home and declined comment Saturday. “There’s just a lot of emotion. A lot of pain. Everyone is real distraught.”

Torrez was last seen leaving a part-time job at Sav-On Drugs by a co-worker about 8 p.m. Feb. 12. At 7:50 p.m., she had called her mother from the store and said she would be home shortly.

The diminutive, 20-year-old woman, a junior sociology major who had made the honor roll last semester while holding down two part-time jobs, had wanted to become a social worker or a probation officer, family members said earlier.

“She worked hard for everything she had,” said Tracy Comer, 20, a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton who met Torrez in a Spanish class.

Police declined to discuss whether they have suspects in the case. An autopsy is scheduled for today.

Friends and family had held out hope that Torrez was safe since her mother reported her missing last Saturday. They had papered north Orange County with flyers seeking information on her whereabouts. As late as Saturday morning, flyers were distributed at a conference at Cal State Fullerton.

Those who knew Torrez had said the 4-foot, 10-inch woman was not the type to go anywhere without informing her family.

News of Torrez’s death shocked residents of the close-knit neighborhood off Chapman Avenue, where she had lived with her mother and stepfather, Mary and Ron Bennet, her brother and one of her two sisters.

“I’m numb right now,” said Ken Luna, a neighbor. “We’re waiting for answers. That’s all I can say.”

Jorge Bernal, a neighbor whose daughter used to walk to nearby Valencia High School with Torrez, said he held out hope that she was alive until the end.

“Everyone is surprised,” Bernal said. “Even this morning when I heard it on the news, I was hoping it wasn’t her.”

Placentia police officers discovered Torrez’s Toyota Corolla before 1:30 a.m. Saturday in a parking lot in front of medical offices near Placentia-Linda Community Hospital in the 1300 block of Rose Drive.

“After searching the vehicle, the patrol officers located the body of Cathy Torrez,” Placentia Sgt. Ken Gardner said. “The case is being treated as a homicide investigation.”