Missing California woman Andrea Vazquez found dead in field

The missing California woman who was shot and kidnapped late Sunday was found dead 24 hours later as police announced the arrest of a suspect behind the “random attack.”

The body of Andrea Vazquez, 20, was found late Monday night in a vegetation field in Moreno Valley, Whittier police said in a news release.

Vazquez was pulled from the parked car she was in with her boyfriend at Penn Park after a gunman fired at them around midnight Sunday, authorities previously said. 

Whittier cops arrested 20-year-old Gabriel Esparza in connection to the case hours before they found Vazquez’s remains. He was taken into custody at his job in the city of Lakewood without incident, police said.

The Whittier resident is facing charges of murder and kidnapping.

“At this time, it appears that Andrea Vazquez and her male companion were randomly targeted by the suspect at Penn Park,” Whittier police said.

Her family was hoping for a safe return before the tragic discovery.

“It’s a pain nobody deserves,” her mother Anna told KCLA. “She was my everything.”

Meanwhile Vasquez’s older sister told the station she couldn’t sleep as her sister was missing.

“It’s hard to get rest, it just feels guilty to even sleep,” Edlyn said. “She’s a homebody. She was my best friend.”

Vasquez’s boyfriend fled from the car after the suspect fired. But when he returned he found blood near his car and his girlfriend gone, police previously said.

Authorities have recovered a weapon they believed is tied to the crime and Esparza’s 2013 white Toyota Tacoma trunk.

The murder suspect is being held without bail. The case will be turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office. Whittier is about 20 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

“Detectives are not disclosing any additional details at this time because the investigation is ongoing,” Whittier police said.