MERCED, Calif. (KFSN) — The Merced County Sheriff’s Office released chilling new video on Wednesday showing the moment a family of four, including an 8-month-old child, were kidnapped.
The four family members have not been found.
The family was abducted at gunpoint Monday from a business in Merced, authorities said.
At a press conference Wednesday, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office released surveillance video showing the moments leading up to the kidnapping.
The video shows two of the family members – Jasdeep Singh, 36, and Amandeep Singh, 39 – walking out of the business with their hands tied.
Moments later, the video shows the kidnapper driving Jasleen Kaur and her 8-month-old baby, Aroohi Dheri, out of the building in a truck.
“We continue to ask for the public’s assistance with any information that may help us locate the family,” the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said.
Jesus Manuel Salgado, the person of interest, was taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon and remains in hospital in critical condition after attempting to take his own life.
Authorities say deputies were told one of the victim’s ATM cards had been used at a bank in Atwater, a town about 9 miles north of Merced.
RELATED: 4 Family Members Kidnapped From Merced Company, Suspect Photo Released
Detectives received information identifying Salgado as a person of interest and that he had attempted suicide before police arrived, according to a statement from authorities, without specifying where he was taken into custody.
The sheriff’s office said his own family contacted authorities to report that Salgado had admitted to them that he was involved in the family’s kidnapping.
The abductor took the baby, the child’s mother, father and uncle, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said.
Warnke said the kidnapper made no ransom demands or contact of any kind.
“If you have any helpful tips or video, please provide it to the Sheriff’s Department…they are doing the best they can with what they can do, but we need the public’s help right now,” he said. one of the missing family members. loved ones at Wednesday’s press conference. “Please help so my family can return home safely.”
The sheriff’s department released two stills of surveillance footage of the potential suspect on Monday and asked for the public’s help in identifying the man. He was seen wearing a dark hoodie, dark shorts and a light blue disposable face mask.
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 Amandeep Singh’s vehicle was found burnt out around 11:40 a.m. Monday. Merced police and his family members have been unable to contact him or the couple. Shortly after, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office responded to the case and determined that they had been kidnapped.
The sheriff’s office said the FBI, California Department of Justice and other local law enforcement agencies are assisting with the investigation.
Warnke says his investigators still don’t have a motive for the kidnapping, but he says this isn’t the first time Salgado has held victims against their will.
According to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, a similar incident occurred in December 2005. It landed Salgado in jail on charges of robbery with home invasion with a firearm, intimidation of witnesses and attempted of sequestration. The victims were not injured. He was released in June 2015.
On Tuesday afternoon, authorities announced that a person of interest seen in the surveillance video, Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, had been taken into custody.
The sheriff’s office said his own family contacted authorities to report that Salgado had admitted to them that he was involved in the family’s kidnapping.
Before the sheriff’s office could get to Salgado, he attempted suicide. He is now hospitalized in critical condition.
“We hope he recovers because right now he’s our only lead for the family,” Warnke said. “We still have no leads on the whereabouts of the family, what their condition is.”
Sheriff Warnke says his investigators still don’t have a motive for the kidnapping, but he says this isn’t the first time Salgado has held victims against their will.
According to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, a similar incident occurred in December 2005. It landed Salgado in jail on charges of robbery with home invasion with a firearm, intimidation of witnesses and attempted of sequestration.
The victims were not injured.
He was released in June 2015.
“Having three adults is one thing, but we have a little girl who has a whole bunch of needs here,” Warnke said. “Anyone here who is a parent understands that. She has diapers. Special food that you have to have.”
Merced community reeling from family caught in the open
Merced Mayor Matthew Serratto assured the community that law enforcement would be relentless in their investigation.
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