LONG BEACH, Calif. — A 3-week-old baby who was abducted after her parents and an uncle were wounded in a shooting at a Long Beach residence has been found dead and authorities are searching for a suspect.
The identification of Eliza Delacruz came after detectives from Long Beach travelled to San Diego County to help authorities investigate the discovery of remains found in a dumpster Sunday behind an Imperial Beach strip mall.
“The suspect who committed these horrific crimes” remains on the loose, Long Beach police said in a statement.
The 10-pound child had been declared missing when police went to the home Saturday evening after receiving a call about the shooting and found two brothers and the baby's mother with gunshot wounds.
Two victims remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition Sunday. The other was treated and released.
Long Beach police spokeswoman Marlene Arrona says his motive is unknown but detectives do not believe the shooting was a random act.
The remains were discovered Sunday afternoon and the San Diego County Coroner's office later identified them as those of the child, police said. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.
Police are now seeking an adult male in the shooting but have not said if the man is related to the baby.
Authorities earlier had asked anyone who knows of someone bringing home an infant under suspicious circumstances to call the police.
Police released a photo that showed the child sleeping on a red blanket in a ruffled white dress with a white bow in her hair.