Riverside County investigators search for the killer of Norma Lopez and warn residents to be careful. Hundreds attend a gathering to remember the victim
By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times
With word that a killer was among them, fear spread quickly among Moreno Valley's parents and teenagers Wednesday after authorities confirmed that a body found near a patch of farmland was that of a missing 17-year-old high school student.
Norma Lopez vanished seven days ago as she walked to a friend's house after summer school, triggering a massive search that has now turned into a hunt for a killer throughout Riverside County. Police believe Lopez was abducted as she cut though a field near Valley View High School.
"We haven't caught the suspect who killed Norma, so obviously there is at least [one] murderer out there. So I would be vigilant, I would be aware. If I was a parent, I would keep track of my children,'' said Riverside County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Joe Borja.
Sonia DeLeon, a prenatal health counselor, wasn't taking any chances. She's sending her 17-year-old daughter to live with relatives in San Diego County for a few weeks.
"It's scary. The person is still out there,'' DeLeon said. "I work, my husband works, we can't keep an eye on her every minute''.
News of Lopez's death, mostly through text messages and cellphones, traveled quickly through her school long before the Sheriff's Department made the official announcement, Principal Kristen Hunter said.
"We've had so many kids come in that I had to call the district to bring in the crisis response team,'' Hunter said. "It was heartbreaking to see how much pain they were in. Some of them went to school with Norma since elementary school. They were hitting their fists on the table, saying 'Why? Why? Why?'''
Lopez was reported missing a week ago by her older sister, Sonja, after she failed to return home from a summer biology class. She was out of school by 10 a.m. and planned to meet her older sister and a friend, authorities said.
Investigators said they found some of Norma's belongings, as well as signs of a struggle, in a vacant field along Cottonwood Avenue, a popular shortcut among students.
Lopez's body was found in a grassy field Tuesday afternoon by a resident doing yardwork on the eastern edge of town, an area just off Interstate 60 that issurrounded by vast wheat fields.
Authorities declined to provide any details about the cause of death, any evidence found with the body or when they believe that Lopez was killed.
Los Angeles Times
