Coroner Identifies Remains Found in Riverbed

Skeletal remains discovered last month have been identified as those of a 28-year-old New Jersey woman who disappeared in Laguna Beach a year ago, police said Tuesday.

No foul play is suspected in the death of Silvia Molina, whose remains were discovered Jan. 22 by a landscaper working in a riverbed off El Toro Road, within a mile of the home where Molina was staying with relatives, police said. The cause of death was not released at the request of Molina’s family.

Search teams combed the same area in the weeks after Molina’s disappearance Feb. 18 but had no luck. A radar device, divers and specially trained dogs were used during a four-day search of the Laguna Lakes, where police suspected the Penn State student and East Coast native might have stopped during a trek to the Laguna Hills Mall.

“Our primary search area was the lakes because that’s where the dogs got hits [on her scent], but she went in a different direction,” Laguna Beach Investigator Eric Lee said. “She visited the lake so many times before that we think that’s what led the dogs there.”

The coroner’s office used dental records to identify Molina’s remains, Lee said.

“It’s good for the family to finally have an answer,” Lee said. “It helps them deal with all this.”

A memorial service for Molina is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Louis of France Church in La Puente, followed by burial at 1 p.m. at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Rowland Heights.