Four kidnapped members of a family in Merced County, in the U.S. state of California, were found dead, the county sheriff said Wednesday night.
“Tonight, our worst fears have been confirmed,” Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke said at a news conference.
“We found the four people from the kidnapping, and they are in fact deceased.’’
Warnke said that the bodies were discovered by a farm worker.
The victims were 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents, 27-year-old Jasleen Kaur and 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh, and her 39-year-old uncle Amandeep Singh.
They were taken against their will on Monday from a business on South Highway 59, according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspect, Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was arrested Tuesday after using the missing family’s ATM card at a bank that morning, the sheriff’s office said.
He added that he was unconscious after a suicide attempt.
Warnke said investigators were still trying to determine the motive behind the kidnapping.
