After the abduction of four family members from Merced was caught on surveillance video on Monday night, authorities have confirmed that they have all been found dead.
At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a farmworker called 911 to report that he had found the bodies, according to Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke.
Shortly after receiving the call, deputies and detectives arrived at the scene. They determined that the bodies were those of 8-month-old Aroohi Dehri; her mother, 27-year-old Jasleen Kaur; her father, 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh; and her uncle, 39-year-old Amandeep Singh.
The four family members were taken hostage at gunpoint Monday from their family businesses in Merced.
While giving an update on the discovery, Warnke shared that their “worst fears” had been confirmed after identifying the remains.
“We found the four people from the kidnapping, and they are, in fact, deceased.… There’s no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident,” Warnke said. “I said it earlier; there’s a special place in hell for this guy.”
The man suspected of kidnapping and murdering the victims is Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48. Police arrested him on Tuesday after he attempted to take his own life in Atwater, a nearby town.
The investigation into their kidnapping is still ongoing, but Warnke confirmed that investigators had spoken with Salgado as of Wednesday night. However, he did not share what was said.
The relatives of the victims have also been notified of their discovery, according to Warnke.
The sheriff's office shared on Facebook on Thursday that the family is not asking for donations at this time, as some are impersonating them fraudulently.
"There is no GoFundMe account or any other donation links set up. If that changes, the Merced County Sheriff's Office will be the one to announce that," the office said, adding that they are grateful for the support but are asking for privacy at this time.
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