A day after being mysteriously kidnapped from a place of business along the 800 block of South Highway 59 in Merced, four family members of Indian descent were missing. Aroohi Dheri, an 8-month-old baby girl who was kidnapped alongside her mother Jasleen Kaur (27) and father Jasdeep Singh (36), were among the victims of the unusual incident. The infant’s uncle, Amandeep Singh, age 39, was also abducted against his will.
The California family that was reported missing earlier in the week and who was allegedly kidnapped from Merced has now been discovered dead. All four family members—eight-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents, Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh, and the child’s uncle, Amandeep Singh, were discovered dead on Wednesday night, according to Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke.
Warnke said, “Tonight our worst fears have been confirmed. We found the four people from the kidnapping, and they are in fact deceased”.
In an emotional press statement on Wednesday, Warnke remarked, “There are no words right now to describe the anger I feel right now and the senselessness of this incident. I said it earlier there’s a special place in Hell for this guy. And what we’re going to deal with all night here is bad”.
According to the sheriff’s office, the enquiry was started when a pickup vehicle with Amandeep’s registration was discovered on fire late Monday morning on a country road near Winton, a town a few miles north of Merced.
Officers from the California Highway Patrol attempted to get in touch with Amandeep; when they couldn’t, they got in touch with a family member, who was also unable to get in touch with Amandeep. The family member eventually reported all four of them missing. Investigators from the sheriff’s office had discovered that the four had been taken from the establishment by early Monday afternoon.
A day after the accused, 48-year-old Jesus Salgado, was taken into custody, the announcement was made. Salgado attempted suicide and is now in serious condition in a hospital. As of Wednesday night, according to the authorities, Salgado was still unconscious in a hospital, and they had not yet interrogated him.
Salgado was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with the use of a handgun in Merced County, as well as attempted false imprisonment and an effort to impede or deter a victim or witness. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, he was given a term of 11 years in state prison in that case.
In 2015, he was let out of prison, and three years later, he was freed from parole. He was also found guilty of possessing a restricted drug, according to the prison department. There is no connection between Salgado and the family that would indicate that they were acquainted prior to the kidnapping.
Family relatives claimed early in the hunt that the victims of the kidnappings, who owned a trucking business, were abducted from an office that they had opened only a few days ago. According to the sheriff, authorities think the alleged kidnapper destroyed certain evidence in an effort to hide his tracks. Authorities claim that at least one other individual is also involved in the crime.
At a press conference on Wednesday, authorities released security footage of a guy kidnapping the family. The suspect was shown on camera initially passing by the property before approaching one of the males. It then depicts him guiding the men, whose wrists were tied with zip ties behind their backs, into the pickup truck’s back seat.
The suspect then drove away after leading Jasdeep Singh, who was holding her infant in her arms, out of the trailer that served as the company office and into the vehicle. Nothing was taken from the trucking firm, according to the relatives, although all of the family members were wearing jewellery.
An ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used after the kidnappings in Atwater, a city located approximately 9 miles north of Merced, according to Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke. In what he thinks to be a financially motivated crime, Warnke claimed that the kidnapper made no demands for a ransom.
