Body found burning in Santa Barbara County is identified

At the Tarzana restaurant where he worked as a waiter, Bernardo Alvarez was well-liked and reliable. When he didn’t show up last month after not missing a single day in 10 years, his boss at the Greystoke Grill grew concerned and filed a missing-persons report.

Authorities on Wednesday identified Alvarez as the man whose body was found burning next to the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara County about 4 a.m. on July 15.

At a news conference, officials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department appealed to the public for clues into Alvarez’s grisly death. They said DNA testing proved that the remains found in burning brush on a highway pullout near Buellton were those of Alvarez.

Alvarez, 48, was single and lived alone in an apartment that was walking distance from work. About a dozen somber family members attended the Santa Barbara news conference but declined interviews.

LAPD Det. Joel Price said the Greystoke Grill is a favorite of officers — as was Alvarez.

“They knew him quite well,” Price said. “His reputation was stellar.”

An autopsy revealed that Alvarez, who had a deformed left hand, died no more than 24 hours before he was found and had “a limited amount” of alcohol and drugs in his system, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

He was last seen leaving a Ventura Boulevard restaurant, which officials declined to name, on July 14 about 7 p.m. Where and how he died are still under investigation.

steve.chawkins@latimes.com