This undated photo shows 36-year-old Army veteran Maribel Manriquez Ramos, who was reported missing on May 2. (MyFoxLA.com)
A body has been found in a remote part of Orange County and authorities are trying to determine if it is a 36-year-old former Army sergeant who has been missing for the past two weeks.
The body was found late Thursday in an unincorporated area near Modjeska Canyon. Police from the city of Orange were called to the scene to investigate. They have been looking for Maribel Ramos who was last seen on surveillance video outside her apartment building May 2.
"No connection has yet been made between Ms. Ramos' disappearance and the body, and the investigation is continuing," Ly. Dave Hill of the Orange Police Department told MyFoxLA.com.
Ramos was reported missing a few days later after failing to show up for a softball game and speaking engagement at a veterans group.
Police have said there were no signs of foul play and there has been no record of Ramos using her credit card she she disappeared. But investigators said it was out of character for Ramos to suddenly cut ties.
Her sister Lucy Gonzalez said the last time she had contact with her sister was May 2. The two were reportedly exchanging text messages about a recent trip Ramos had made to Chicago to participate in a panel on veterans transitioning to civilian life and higher education.
Ramos served two tours of duty in Iraq as a sergeant in the Army and spent another year in South Korea and was expected to graduate later this month from Cal State Fullerton, MyFoxLa.com reported.
"She didn't respond right away, but I know she went to work and they sent her home because she looked really tired," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said it was unlike her sister to miss some of the commitments she had since her disappearance.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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