Authorities are seeking the public’s help to identify a woman who was found dead near an Orange County freeway.

In January 2006, Orange County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a body found off Ortega Highway. Also known as Highway 74, the long stretch of road winds through the rural Santa Ana mountain range.

A pair of sightseers had discovered the woman’s body lying around 10 feet below a cliff, according to the Orange County Register.

The woman is described as a Hispanic female between 20 and 30 years old. She weighed around 105 pounds and had dark-colored hair down to her mid-back.  

She had a rose stem tattoo on her left forearm, recently manicured fingernails with a heart-shaped design on each nail, and a surgical scar below her navel. She was found wearing blue jeans and a black lycra top.

The woman’s cause of death was not determined but investigators told the O.C. Register they believe the woman died elsewhere before being left on the side of the road.

Detectives said the woman had a Cesarean scar which appeared to be of Latin American origin. They noted Cesarean scars in the U.S. are typically horizontal while the woman’s scar was vertical.

A new rendering of the woman was created with the help of a Miami Dade Police Department forensic artist along with images of her tattoo and the design on her nails.

Anyone who may recognize her or has information on the case is asked to contact O.C. Sheriff investigator Lauren Felix at 714-647-4579 or email coldcase@ocsheriff.gov. 

Anonymous tips can be provided to OC Crime Stoppers at 1-855-847-6227 or online at occrimestoppers.org.

Police say they are searching for three suspects connected to the shooting death of a man in Downtown Los Angeles in the early hours of Saturday morning.

According to the L.A. Police Department, officers responded to the area of Pico Boulevard and Hope Street around 3:25 a.m.

Around that time, a man observed three other men “removing property” from a location. When he tried to intervene, police said, the men turned around and shot him.

The victim, described only as white man between the ages of 30 and 35, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

The three suspects fled the scene before officers arrived, police said. They remained at large as of Saturday morning.

No additional details were immediately made available.

One of the victims of a brutal sexual assault along the Venice canals was taken off life support Friday night after being in a coma for nearly two months.

Sarah Alden, 53, was declared brain dead earlier this week. She had planned to move across the country from Massachusetts to Venice Beach in California, a dream she had worked hard to achieve.

Ready to start her new life, she had just signed a lease for an apartment in Venice and was walking along the famed canals on April 6 when she was brutally raped and assaulted.

A second victim, Mary Klein, 54, was also attacked that night. She was left severely injured and believed the attacker aimed to kill her.

Police confirmed that both attacks had a “sexual element” to them. The suspect, Anthony Francisco Jones, 29, was arrested days later on April 11 for the assaults.

Jones was captured on security cameras walking near the canals that night holding a liquor bottle that investigators said was used in the attacks. He is also believed to be a homeless man.

Although Klein survived her attack, Alden remained in a coma. On Friday night, friends and family surrounded Alden at the hospital as she was taken off life support.

“It’s very sudden and shocking,” said Cynthia King, Alden’s friend. “She was extremely intelligent, well-educated and witty. She was stolen from us.”

Earlier in May, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced charges in the case.

“The level of brutality that was engaged in was very reprehensible,” said L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón.

Loved ones remain devastated, remembering Alden as a loving mother of two sons.

“I feel like I’m in an alternate reality,” King said. “This isn’t even real.”

Alden’s family said the woman’s organs will be donated to help save others’ lives. The attacks have left Venice residents stunned and worried for their safety.

Resident Aimee Nelson said there’s been a notable increase in violent crime and neighbors are watching out for each other. One neighbor even provided her with pepper spray and a stun gun.

“Our neighbors have been asking each other to walk them home, people are avoiding going out at night because they feel unsafe,” said Ramon Goni, a Venice local. “We had an active shooter right behind us a few weeks ago.”

Some residents told KTLA they believed the canals to be a relatively safe area but are no longer certain.

“It was a little pocket that was different from the rest of Venice, away from all the homeless and where the attacks were,” said a resident named Tim. “But now, I think [the crime] has penetrated in.”

The suspect, Jones, was arrested and charged with forcible rape, torture, attempted murder, mayhem, sexual penetration by use of force and sodomy by use of force.

“Our hearts and deepest sympathies go out to the victim’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time,” said the DA’s office. “Our office is evaluating how we will proceed to ensure the defendant is held fully accountable for his conduct.”

A GoFundMe to help Alden’s family with medical and funeral expenses can be found here.