Kidnapped Merced family Found Dead

Kidnapped Merced family found dead

The family kidnapped from their business has been found dead, the Merced County Sheriff's Office announced.

Images are displayed of 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, left, with her mother Jasleen Kaur, her father Jasdeep Singh, and her uncle Amandeep Singh, at a news conference in Merced, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022. Sheriff Vern Warnke, of Merced County, announced Wednesday that the family members, who were kidnapped at gunpoint from their trucking business in central California, have been found dead. (Andrew Kuhn/The Merced Sun-Star via AP) 

MERCED COUNTY, Calif. — The search for a Merced area family has come to a tragic end. The Merced County Sheriff's Office said the family has been found dead.

Deputies said 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, mother Jasleen Kaur (27), father Jasdeep Singh (36) and the baby's uncle Amandeep Singh (39) had been taken against their will from a trucking business near South Highway 59.

The sheriff's office announced a person of interest is in custody for the crime. They say one of the victim's ATM cards was used in the city of Atwater. Shortly after, they identified Jesus Manuel Salgado as the person of interest.

They said he then attempted to take his own life, but he is in custody. However, the family was still missing at the time.

Wednesday, Sheriff Vern Warnke said deputies responded to a call from a farmworker around 5:30 p.m. and were ultimately able to confirm that the family was found dead. He said the bodies were found relatively close together in an orchard near Indiana Road and Hutchinson Road, affiliate ABC30 reported.

"I said it earlier, there's a special place in hell for this guy, and I mean it," Warnke said.

He said the family was found in an extremely rural farm area that is extremely remote.

Few details surrounding the death of the family has been released at this time, but more information will be provided as it becomes available.

The sheriff's office said that firefighters on Monday found Amandeep Singh's truck on fire. Merced Police Department officers went to Amandeep Singh's home, where a family member tried to reach him and the couple. When they were not able to reach their family members, they called the Merced County Sheriff’s office to report them missing, the office said.

Merced County Undersheriff Corey Gibson said a farmer found a phone belonging to one of the victims on a street in Dos Palos, a town 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Merced, and answered it when the family called it.

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