Divers End Search for Missing Woman

Stymied by thick silt, divers on Tuesday gave up their four-day search for a New Jersey student believed to have drowned in one of the Laguna Lakes.

With help from trained dogs, 16 divers spent the day probing the murky waters with high-tech scanning devices but did not find 28-year-old Silvia Molina, who vanished eight days ago.

“We’re wiped out,” Laguna Beach Police Lt. Danell Adams said as he stood on the banks of one of the lakes. “We’re back to square one.”

The Penn State University student left her cousin’s Laguna Beach home at 4 p.m. Feb. 18 with plans to catch a bus to shop at Laguna Hills Mall.

Two different search dogs caught her scent near the home and tracked her two miles to the largest of the three lakes. Two other dogs, trained to detect bodies underwater from a boat, drew search divers to a south corner of the murky lake, a spot they combed six times on Tuesday.

Dredging or draining the muddy lake, which has visibility of only 6 inches, would be difficult, Adams said. “If anyone has any other ideas, we’ll listen.”

The missing woman’s brother, Enrique Molina Jr., said of the search’s end, “I’m grappling with frustration and the fact that my family is starting to speak about a burial service. . . . We are starting to accept that maybe she’s dead.”

Police are still seeking leads in the case. The missing woman is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighs 100 pounds and has green eyes and brown, wavy hair to her shoulders. Anyone with information is asked to call (714) 494-0548.