Remains of O.C. woman recovered; man held

A body found in brush in an unincorporated canyon area of Orange County was identified Friday as that of a 36-year-old Army veteran and soon-to-be college graduate missing since earlier this month, and her roommate has been arrested in connection with her death, authorities said.

An autopsy confirmed that the body of Maribel Ramos was found Thursday afternoon near Modjeska Canyon, ending weeks of searching for the Cal State Fullerton student, Lt. David Hill of the Orange Police Department told reporters in a Friday news conference. Ramos was reported missing May 3.

Police said Kwang Chol “KC” Joy, 54, voluntarily submitted to an interview with detectives after he was contacted Friday morning. He was later arrested on suspicion of killing Ramos. Police declined to release additional information, saying that the case was being submitted to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Ramos served in the Army for eight years, including tours in Iraq and South Korea, before she was honorably discharged in 2008. She was a few weeks shy of receiving her degree in criminal justice from Cal State Fullerton.

She was last seen May 2 on footage from security cameras at her Orange apartment complex, authorities said. The next day, Ramos failed to show up at a veterans event where she was scheduled to speak, then missed a softball game she had played weekly with one of her cousins for years.

Friends and relatives said it was out of character for her to walk away from her commitments without telling anyone.

“She doesn’t do anything like that,” her cousin Frank Campos said before the body was found. “She’s not the type of person to get up and go. There had to be something.”

Family members said that when they went to her apartment after she first missed appointments, her car and her dog -- a Chihuahua mix named Mia that was often at her side -- were still there.

Family and friends organized walks through her neighborhood, handing out fliers and looking for clues. They also started a Facebook page, where hundreds have left comments.

After there was word that a body had been found near Santiago Canyon and Jackson Ranch roads, many commented that they were holding out hope and offering prayers that it wasn’t Ramos.

But by late Friday, hope gave way to mourning and condolences.

“She had been on my mind since we first heard,” wrote one of the nearly 150 people who had posted messages to her family on Facebook. “May the angels surround her and God give you peace, may she rest in peace.”

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Times staff writer Victoria Kim contributed to this report.