California family kidnapping: Merced sheriff asks for public's help to identify suspect
Merced County Sheriff Vernon Warnke on Monday pleaded with the public for help identifying the suspect tied to a California family's disappearance.
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California authorities arrested a person of interest amid an investigation into the kidnapping of a family of four, officials said Tuesday. The arrest came the day after officers located a truck belonging to one of the missing victims on fire outside Merced.
The Merced County Sheriff's Office announced Jesus Manuel Salgado, 48, was taken into custody following a brief search prompted by him using one of the victim’s credit cards at an ATM in Atwater. The city of Atwater is located less than 10 miles from Merced.
"On October 4, 2022, in the morning hours, Merced County Sheriff Detectives received information that one of the victim’s ATM cards was used at an ATM located at a bank in the City of Atwater. Investigators obtained the surveillance photo of a subject making a bank transaction where the person is similar in appearance to the surveillance photo from the original kidnapping scene," the MCSO said in a statement.
The MCSO said Salgado was in critical condition when law enforcement officers located him as he attempted to take his own life.
KIDNAPPED CALIFORNIA FAMILY: MERCED OFFICIALS FOUND MISSING UNCLE'S TRUCK ON FIRE
Multiple law enforcement agencies are continuing to search for the four missing victims: 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her parents – Jasleen Kaur, 27, and Jasdeep Singh, 36 – and her uncle, Amandeep Singh, 39. Police said all four were taken against their will at gunpoint.
"We continue to ask for the public’s help with any information that may assist us in locating the family’s whereabouts," the MCSO said.
During a press conference Tuesday, Sheriff Vern Warnke added: "We have no motivation behind it. We just know that they are gone."
KIDNAPPED CALIFORNIA FAMILY OF 4 STILL MISSING ALONG WITH POTENTIAL ARMED SUSPECT, SHERIFF SAYS
The arrest comes a day after Cal Fire Madera-Mariposa-Merced "was dispatched to Buhach Road and Oakdale Road in Winton for a report of a vehicle on fire," the sheriff's office said Tuesday.
Authorities with the fire department later identified the vehicle as Amandeep Singh's black 2020 Dodge Ram truck.
A photo collage showing the four missing victims of a kidnapping in California. (Merced County Sheriff's Office)
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Anyone with any information regarding the kidnapping or the whereabouts of the victims is encouraged to call the MCSO tip line at 209.385.7547. Any information can be shared confidentially.
Fox News' Audrey Conklin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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