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Ontario backyard searched for remains of missing O.C. trucker

Oscar Javier Contreras EscobarInvestigators on Thursday night were searching for a Laguna Hills trucker who has been missing since August and whose remains may be buried in the backyard of an Ontario home.

Authorities and police were using a backhoe and cadaver dogs as they dug holes in the yard, the Ontario Police Department said.

"It's a slow, methodical process," Sgt. David McBride told KTLA-TV Channel 5

Oscar Javier Contreras Escobar, 28, left his truck in Victorville in late August after finishing work and was planning to visit a friend in Fontana, according to authorities. His family reported him missing several days later.

The case was initially handled by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, but it was turned over to Ontario police after investigators uncovered additional evidence in November, McBride said. 

Among the evidence, he said, investigators discovered that Escobar's credit card had been used after he was reported missing. 

Police were planning to stop digging for the night and resume the operation Friday morning. 

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— Robert J. Lopez

twitter.com/LAJourno

Photo: Oscar Javier Contreras Escobar. Credit: Orange County Sheriff's Department via Hoy.
 
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