California police are searching for the father of a baby girl who was found deceased and thrown by a dumpster on Monday.
The Sacramento Bee reports that authorities are investigating the death of a baby girl found Monday morning by a dumpster close to funeral home in Bellflower. The baby has been identified as 8-month-old Alexia Rose Echeverria.
Police are looking for the baby’s father, 22-year-old Sacramento resident, Alexander Echeverria. He was last seen on Monday morning in Southern California. According to a news release by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, Echeverria is a person of interest in the case and is currently considered at-risk after “suicidal statements made to family members recently.”
Echeverria may be driving a gray 2014 Volkswagen Jetta with California license plate number, 7FFT866. He’s described as a Hispanic male who stands 5-foot-6-inches and weighs around 130 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.
#LASD Seeking the Public’s Help in Locating “At Risk” #Missing Person Alexander Echeverria, 30y/o, 5’6”, 160lbs, From Northern California, Last seen May 24, 2019. Call w/ ANONYMOUS TIPS 800-222-8477 @LACrimeStopper1 or Detectives at 323-890-5500 pic.twitter.com/ArJZ74IwX5
— LA County Sheriff's (@LASDHQ) May 28, 2019
On Monday, LASD Sheriff’s Det. Steve Blagg said Alexia was found “in a child’s car seat, car seat was upright, and had a blanket partially covering the baby.” There were no signs of visible trauma on the baby. The cause of death is pending an autopsy.
On Tuesday, the baby’s mother, Karla Alvarado, said Echeverria called her crying but wouldn’t explain why. She then spoke to a family member in Sacramento, who reportedly claimed Echeverria harmed the baby on accident, according to CBS Los Angeles.
“He was playing with her, here in Sacramento, and he threw her in the air and she fell and she wasn’t waking up,” Alvarado said, according to KTLA 5. “He said he got scared and he drove to the hospital, but he never went in because he thought that nobody was going to believe him that it was an accident.”
Instead of driving Alexia to the hospital, the suspect, according to his family members, drove 400 miles south to Bellflower, close to where his mother lives.
“He just left her there like she was trash or something,” Alvarado said. “I just want them to find him. I want to know exactly how my baby passed away, why he left her there, why he couldn’t face the consequences.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sacramento County Sheriff’s investigators at 916-874-5021.
[Feature Photo: Alexia Rose Echeverria/Handout]