Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department investigators have begun searching the Antelope Valley landfill for the remains of a baby who went missing in Palmdale earlier this month, law enforcement officials said Tuesday night.
“Unfortunately, this started out as a missing baby and now it's a death investigation,” Lt. Omar Camacho told the Times. “We are looking for [the landfill] “Based on where the investigation has taken us, and unfortunately we couldn't find anything today.”
The missing child, Baki Dewees, was born on April 14 and was last seen in Palmdale on May 3, according to a flyer distributed by his family on Facebook.
“My family and I [are] Desperately asking for your help,” the boy's great-aunt wrote on Facebook. “Baki is only 3 weeks old. Please help us bring Baki home to his grandmother.”
Two days after giving birth, the mother, Rosealani Gaoa, 25, was arrested in Ogden, Utah, on suspicion of aggravated child abuse, intentional child abuse and reckless child abuse, jail records show.
At the time, Camacho said, Gaoa's four children and the baby's father were all with her in Utah. Family welfare officials later took custody of the boy at the center of the abuse allegations. Camacho referred further questions about the nature of that case to Ogden officials.
“We did not investigate that case, nor did we have the details of it,” he said, noting that the alleged abuse occurred in Utah.
A police source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the victim at that time The case is Baki's older sister.
After Gaoa's arrest, the children's father, Yusuf Dewees, 24, left Utah with the couple's three remaining children and returned to Palmdale, authorities said.
But he returned to Ogden several days later, possibly so authorities could interview him, Camacho said. Jail records show he was arrested on May 7 and held without bail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and making false statements.
The law enforcement source who was not authorized to speak publicly said Dewees was arrested after being questioned about Baki's disappearance and allegedly lying to police in Ogden. Camacho did not say whether the alleged obstruction was due to the incidents in California or Utah.
Ogden Police Lt. Glen Buss said Utah police first contacted Dewees and Gaoa at a homeless shelter. He referred additional questions about the nature of his arrest to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, saying the two departments are working together.
The case came to the attention of Sheriff's Department officials after the baby's grandmother made a missing person report around May 8. Officers responded to the 2300 block of Carolyn Drive in Palmdale regarding her call, according to a news release. Camacho said the matter was referred to the department's Homicide Bureau a day later. On Tuesday, he said it was still too early in the investigation to release information about why officials believe the boy is dead or how he is suspected of dying.
Searchers who began combing the landfill on Tuesday were looking for “specific things,” Camacho said. But he said finding the boy's remains could prove a difficult task that could require cutting through layers of trash. The search could use machinery or cadaver dogs, he said, but “sometimes the only possible way is just human hands.”
Authorities will resume their search Wednesday, according to the law enforcement source, who said the couple lives in Palmdale.
“If we believed the child was still alive we would have asked the public for help,” Camacho said. “But right now, unfortunately, that is not the case. “Now we're just trying to get closure for the family.”
The two remaining children in California have since been removed by child welfare officials, Camacho said. It was unclear why the family was in Utah.
