Missing Student Found Dead in Car

A 22-year-old UC San Diego student missing since Monday night was found dead Thursday afternoon in his car after an apparent traffic accident near Oceanside, authorities said.

Joshua J. Eber left San Diego on Monday to visit his parents in Calabasas. When he didn’t appear, relatives and friends were especially concerned because he was diabetic and insulin-dependent, said Leigh Haikin, a friend of the family. Eber was driving to his parents’ house because his mother was to have an emergency medical procedure the next day, Haikin said.

Authorities located Eber’s BMW convertible well off the shoulder of Interstate 5 about a quarter of a mile south of Las Pulgas Road in northern San Diego County about 2 p.m. Thursday, said Sgt. John Marinez of the California Highway Patrol’s Oceanside office. A railroad worker had spotted the car in the brushy area, he said.

It appears the car had been traveling on the freeway and ran off the road, Marinez said. Investigators have not determined the time or cause of the accident.

Eber’s cause of death is also under investigation, Marinez said. He may have died of injuries received in the crash or of diabetes-related complications, officials said.