Alpine

Strangulation was the cause of death of a man whose body was found alongside a road, the coroner’s office said Monday.

Valentine Estrada, 26, of the 3600 block of National Avenue, was reported missing Wednesday by his brother. The brother told sheriff’s deputies that Estrada had last been seen about 11:30 a.m. Friday when he left home in a white 1989 Ford Mustang convertible to return rented videotapes to a National City store.

At 4:15 p.m. Friday, sheriff’s deputies received a call that a man was lying near an embankment at Alpine Boulevard and Tavern Road in Alpine. The body was identified as that of Estrada by a computerized fingerprint match.

Anyone with information about the slaying is asked to call the Sheriff Department’s homicide detail at 692-5600.