Body May Be That of Missing O.C. Woman

A body discovered in a shallow grave in the San Bernardino Mountains is believed to be that of a Lake Forest woman who has been missing for more than six weeks, authorities said Tuesday.

A hiker found the body of an unidentified woman Sunday near Highway 138, north of Old Mill Road in the Crestline area, Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said. Two sheriff’s homicide investigators will attend an autopsy today in San Bernardino to determine whether the woman is Carolyn Dunn Avdeef, he said. Avdeef, 62, disappeared June 15.

A Riverside couple, Nicholas James Vovos, 22, and his wife, Deborah Sue Miller Vovos, 39, were wanted for questioning in her disappearance. Avdeef had rented a room to Deborah Vovos’ mother, and the couple had previously rented a room at Avdeef’s house.

Investigators said the Vovoses withdrew more than $10,000 from Avdeef’s accounts and fled to Colorado in the missing woman’s 2005 blue Honda Accord.

On July 3 in Colorado, after a pursuit, the couple had a shootout with deputies, which killed Deborah Vovos. Nicholas Vovos, who was uninjured, was arrested and is being held at the Weld County Detention Center in Greeley.

A day before the gun battle, the couple eluded authorities near Cheyenne, Wyo., and the next day were spotted in Morgan County, Colo., where they led deputies on a 40-mile chase that reached speeds of 120 mph.

Deputies used spike strips to puncture the car’s tires. Nicholas Vovos then drove to a gas station in Lochbuie, near Denver, where the shootout began.

Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez said Tuesday that Nicholas Vovos was being held on $1.5-million bail and had been charged with attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and eluding officers.

The couple had extensive criminal records and ties to San Bernardino County. Last year, Nicholas Vovos was ordered to spend 30 days in county jail there for possession of burglary tools. Deborah Vovos served six months in jail in connection with a fraud case in 2001.

Law enforcement sources in San Bernardino and Orange counties who are familiar with the investigation said witnesses reported seeing Nicholas Vovos in the Crestline area the weekend after Avdeef’s disappearance.

Authorities hope dental records will help them identify the body and that an autopsy will determine the cause of death.

San Bernardino County coroner’s investigator David Van Norman said his department had been in contact with Orange County sheriff’s officials about the body.

“If it’s her, we’ll know,” Van Norman said.

Amormino said investigators notified Avdeef’s family Tuesday about the hiker’s discovery of the body.

Avdeef was discovered missing after she failed to show up for work and her employer called authorities.