麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Baby among 4 family members kidnapped in California: sheriff

Jasleen Kaur, Jasdeep Singh and 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri were kidnapped along with the child's uncle, Amandeep Singh, Monday, investigators said. (Merced County Sheriff's Office/Facebook) Jasleen Kaur, Jasdeep Singh and 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri were kidnapped along with the child's uncle, Amandeep Singh, Monday, investigators said. (Merced County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)
Share
MERCED, Calif -

A Sikh family, including an 8-month-old child, was kidnapped at gunpoint from their gas station in central California by a man who destroyed evidence to cover his tracks, authorities and a community organization said Tuesday.

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said the man took the baby, Aroohi Dheri; the child鈥檚 mother, Jasleen Kaur, 27; father Jasdeep Singh, 36; and uncle Amandeep Singh, 39, on Monday.

鈥淲e have no motivation behind it. We just know that they are gone,鈥 Warnke said in a briefing posted on the department's Facebook page.

Warnke said the kidnapper took the family from a business in the city of Merced, but that he has made no ransom demands or contact of any kind.

Warnke wouldn't identify the type of business the family was taken from but Naindeep Singh, executive director of Jakara Movement, a Punjabi Sikh community organization in central California, said their family told him they were taken from their gas station and convenience store.

鈥淭hey were in shock and worried about the family and the baby. They are in a lot of grief,鈥 Naindeep Singh said.

He said the family has asked for privacy.

The sheriff's department released two still images from surveillance footage of a possible suspect and asked for the public's help in identifying the man. He's seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, 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 firefighters on Monday found a pickup truck belonging to Amandeep Singh that was 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鈥檚 Office to report them missing, the office said.

The sheriff's office said the FBI, the California Department of Justice, and other local law enforcement agencies are helping with the investigation.

Merced is a city of 86,000 people about 125 miles (200 kilometres) southeast of San Francisco in the San Joaquin Valley.

Correction

This story has been corrected to show Jasleen Kaur is 27, not 36, and Merced is southeast of San Francisco, not southwest.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

BREAKING

BREAKING

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.