Felix Patricio Abarca

On November 23rd, 1990, the body of an unidentified female was found, down an embankment, off the side of Sunrise Highway, near Mile marker 33.5 in Mt. Laguna, in San Diego, CA. She was found to be a transwoman by the name of Laura, whose name was Felix Patricio Abarca at birth, who . Her body was so decomposed that it made identification difficult. Two things were evident though, first her hands were bound behind her back with yellow cord, second the cause of death was asphyxiation.

The last time anyone had seen Laura it was on October 17th. She would not be reported missing until November 18th. Her body would not be found until five days after that.

Early in the investigation, sheriffs deputies would think that Laura’s murder was another in the string of 44 killings that had taken place in the area, that stretched back to 1985. These murders were being attributed to a serial killer that had dumped their victims in the area near where Laura would be found. This claim would later be disproved by Cold Case detectives that were looking into the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact us in one of the following ways:

• Sheriff’s Homicide Detail - 858-285-6330 (during business hours)

• Sheriff’s Communications Center - 858-565-5200 (outside business hours)

• Crime Stoppers - 888-580-8477