UPDATE NO. 3, FEB. 26, 5:30 A.M.: Erica Melissa Alonso was the subject of a restraining order to stay away from her ex-boyfriend, an order that was only lifted about a week before he became the last known person to see the missing 27-year-old woman, according to authorities.
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Here are the chain of events reported by KTLA that says it got confirmation from Irvine Police on Wednesday:
* Irvine cops responded to the unidentified ex-boyfriend's home on Nov. 2 for a “spousal abuse” call and took Alonso into custody.
* She was charged Nov. 4 with misdemeanor domestic violence with corporal injury, and her ex-boyfriend was listed as the victim in Orange County Superior Court documents.
* In December, Alonso was ordered to attend alcohol abuse counseling sessions, among other terms that were part of a request that the case be postponed.
* On Feb. 6, the restraining order was lifted and the domestic violence case against Alonso was dismissed, according to court records.
She has been missing since the early morning hours of Sunday, Feb. 15, when she left her ex-boyfriend's home following an argument. Sheriff's officials say he is not a suspect.
One of Alonso's friends has started a GiveForward.com online fundraiser to “go towards creating more awareness all over California and in the U.S of her disappearance.”
“Her friends and family have been searching desperately for their dear Erica with hope in their heart that she WILL in fact be found,” reads the plea. “Erica's story has been on the news, in newspapers and all over social media. Word of mouth and the internet have helped out immensely but all of them in search of her are still needing so much more support in bringing her home.”
UPDATE NO. 2, FEB. 20, 4:07 P.M.: Erica Alonso's 28-year-old sister Patricia choked back tears as she spoke at this morning's press conference, City News Service reports. “Erica is my sister, my best friend,” she said. “It's very unlikely for her not to contact us. … Please, you guys, if anybody has seen anything, knows anything, has heard from her, thinks they've seen her, her car or heard anything, please call (investigators). … All information is very, very important, and we just want her home. We miss her so much.''
She said her sister dated the boyfriend, who is in his 40s, for about two years before they broke up. But they continued to see each other and were working on their relationship. They met for a lunch date on Valentine's Day that went into overtime. The sisters had planned to spend Valentine's night together watching “cheesy movies.” She found out her sister was at Sutra Lounge when she received a “Snapchat” update from her.
Investigators have found everything said by the boyfriend and the couple they met at Sutra checked out, according to sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jeff Hallock.
Alonso did not seem to be depressed or have any other issues, he added. “We believe she is with that vehicle,” Hallock said of her car.
Isaac Alonso said during the press conference that his missing daughter is “responsible” and “very nice” and said the family is “hopeful” for her safe return. Margarita Alonso said her daughter “was always a good girl; she was always in contact with us. That's why we started suspecting (something was wrong) when the next day, and the following day, she never called us or texted us or anything.”
UPDATE NO. 1, FEB. 20, 8:36 A.M.: Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jeff Hallock provided this update this morning: “The couple has been identified after extensive media coverage and they have contacted sheriff's investigators. Ms. Alonso remains MISSING.”
Erica Melissa Alonso's family is scheduled to attend a 10 a.m. press conference at Orange County Sheriff's Department Headquarters in Santa Ana.
Two telling developments: Alonso's brother identified her sister's date at Sutra Lounge as her “ex-boyfriend” when speaking with the TV news reporter, and after the couple left the ex-boyfriend's home in Irvine, he and Alonso argued, according to witnesses. Alonso's brother also said his sister is not the type to leave without a trace.
ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 19, 6:13 P.M.: Erica Melissa Alonso and her on-again, off-again boyfriend went to the Sutra Lounge in Costa Mesa Saturday night, when they met another couple.
The four hung out together until around 1:35 a.m. Sunday, when the party moved to the Irvine home of Alonso's companion.
The couple offered Alonso and her date a ride to Irvine in a red, Toyota Scion FRS.
Around 3:45 a.m., the coupe left in the Scion, as did Alonso about 10 or 15 minutes later in her white, four-door 2014 Honda Civic EX, California license plate number 7FSS563.
The 27-year-old who lives in Laguna Hills with her mother and sister has not been seen since.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department just issued a missing persons bulletin for Alonso, who is described as Hispanic, 5-foot-3, 110 pounds with long brown hair and brown eyes.
She left her date's home, which is in the area of Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue, around 4 a.m. Sunday. That's also the last time anyone has seen her car.
Since then, Alonso has not shown up for work, used credit cards or made any other financial transactions that could be tracked, nor has she participated in social media or used her cell phone.
The Orange County Sheriff's Department has released a series of photos investigators hope will point them to Alonso and the couple who gave her and her date a ride home.
Anyone with information regarding Alonso's whereabouts or who can identify the couple in the red Scion FRS is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department at 714.647.7000 OR 714.647.7055. You can reference case number 15-031966.
Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.