Body found in Moreno Valley near area where girl, 17, vanished

A partially decomposed body was found in a desolate, grassy field in Moreno Valley on Tuesday afternoon, just two miles from where a 17-year-old girl disappeared last week on her walk home from summer school.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department officials said they have not determined if the remains are those of Norma Lopez, who authorities believe was abducted Thursday, triggering a massive search throughout central Riverside County.

A local resident doing yard work found the body around 3 p.m. about a mile south of the 60 Freeway, just off Theodore Street, on the eastern outskirts of the city in an area surrounded by wheat fields, horse ranches and jagged hills. The remains, which have yet to be identified as male or female, were found in the tall grass and near a line of trees but were not otherwise concealed, said Sgt. Joe Borja, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

“I know you’re all interested in finding out whether this is Norma Lopez or not, and honestly we do not know,” Borja told reporters gathered several hundred yards from the crime scene. “No matter which way it is, it’s still a tragic event. There’s someone out in the field who is dead.”

Officials from the county coroner’s office had removed the body by Tuesday evening.

Borja said late Tuesday that an autopsy will be conducted Wednesday morning, allowing authorities to determine the sex of the person. The body was too decomposed to discern that at the scene, he said. Investigators don’t know how long the body was in the field because the recent heat wave probably accelerated the decomposition, Borja said.

Dental records and DNA tests will also be used to determine whether the remains are Norma’s.

Borja said police warned the Lopez family about the grim discovery, and they remained secluded in their Moreno Valley home.

Just hours before the body was found, Norma’s mother and father appeared at a news conference at Moreno Valley City Hall and delivered an emotional plea for their daughter’s safe return.

“If someone has her or knows about her, please … just call. We just need to know about her,” her father, Martin, said in Spanish. “It’s destroying us. Every day that passes, every hour.”

Norma was reported missing about 12:30 p.m. Thursday by her older sister, Sonja, after she failed to return home from summer school. She was out of class at Valley View High School by 10 a.m. and had plans to meet her older sister and another friend, authorities said.

Investigators said they found some of Norma’s belongings, and signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue. They are also looking for the driver and passengers of a newer-model green SUV seen near the dirt field at the time of her disappearance.

After the body was found, deputies roped off the area and waited for coroner’s officials to arrive and examine the remains. FBI investigators, assisting the Sheriff’s Department in the case, also went to the scene.

“It could take as short as one day to a week to determine who that person is,” Borja said.

Barin Butler, 44, who owns a horse ranch across the road from where the body was found, said he had been horseback riding around his property the day before and had not seen anything suspicious.

Earlier Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department announced a $35,000 reward for any information leading to Norma’s return or the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for her abduction.

Authorities urged anyone with information about the case to call (877) 242-4345, or send an e-mail to findnorma@riversidesheriff.org.

phil.willon@latimes.com