A man suspected of kidnapping a Sikh family, including an 8-month-old baby, in central California attempted suicide on Tuesday and is hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said. The family is still missing.
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that investigators identified Jesus Salgado, 48, after using a victim’s bank card.
The family was abducted Monday at gunpoint from a business in Merced, 125 miles (201 km) southeast of San Francisco, the office said, without providing further details. According to Naindeep Singh, the leader of a local Sikh community organization, the four were taken from the gas station and convenience store they own.
Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke said the man took the baby, Aroohi Dheri; the child’s mother, Jasleen Kaur, 27; father Jasdeep Singh, 36; and uncle Amandeep Singh, 39, on Monday.
Detectives obtained a CCTV photo from the ATM in Atwater, a town about 9 miles (14 km) north of Merced, and “the person appears to resemble the CCTV photo from the original abduction scene” , the office said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office had released two stills of a possible suspect seen in surveillance footage and asked for the public’s help in identifying him.
Detectives received information identifying Salgado as a person of interest and that he attempted suicide before police arrived, the statement said, without specifying where he was taken into custody.
The sheriff’s office will hold a press conference on Wednesday to provide further details.
Naindeep Singh said the family had requested confidentiality. “They are in shock and worried for the family and the baby. They have a lot of grief,” he said.
Warnke said the kidnapper made no ransom demands or contact of any kind.
The sheriff said detectives believe the kidnapper destroyed unspecified evidence in an attempt to cover his tracks.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement Tuesday that firefighters on Monday found a van belonging to Amandeep Singh that was on fire. Merced Police Department officers attended Singh’s home where a family member attempted to reach him and the couple. When they were unable to reach family members, they called the Merced County Sheriff’s Office to report them missing, the office said.
The sheriff’s office said the FBI, California Department of Justice and other local law enforcement agencies are assisting with the investigation.
