Body Found in Buena Park May Be Kidnapped Guard’s

Police on Sunday were trying to determine whether a body dumped and set on fire in a Buena Park industrial complex is that of a Commerce security guard who was kidnapped from work last week, officials said.

Coroner’s officials completed an autopsy Sunday but were unable to identify the body because they could not lift fingerprints from the charred remains, officials said. Investigators today will review the kidnap victim’s dental records to see if they match, said Deputy Cullen Ellingburgh of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The body was discovered about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, in flames inside a trash bin in the 8400 block of Artesia Boulevard, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Spear. Firefighters found the body after they extinguished the fire.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said they believe the body may be that of Song Chea, 52, who was abducted Thursday as he guarded the front gates of the Overnight Transportation Co. in Commerce.

Chea, who was unarmed, was kidnapped by two men who dragged him into a van shortly before 4 a.m., Spear said. Police said the kidnappers were working with a third man who was allowed inside the gate by Chea shortly before he was abducted. The man tried to steal a trailer but ran after he was spotted by employees, deputies said.

They are searching for one of the kidnappers, described as a man in his 30s, about 5 feet 10 and weighing 165 pounds. He has a lazy right eye and was last seen in a brown passenger van with tan stripes, gold-colored running boards and license plate number 28JT389. Anyone with information about the abduction or slaying is asked to call detectives at (323) 890-5500.