A Punjab-origin Sikh family of four, including an eight-month-old child, who were kidnapped from Merced County in California, was found dead, authorities said on Thursday.

"It's horribly, horribly senseless," Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said. "We found the four people from the kidnapping and they are in fact deceased."

He said the man in custody was convicted in 2005 in a case involving armed robbery and false imprisonment. The man was paroled in 2015 and knew the victims.

The victim family, from Hoshiarpur in Punjab, was kidnapped on October 3.

Bodies of kidnapped Punjab-origin Sikh family found in California
Bodies of kidnapped Punjab-origin Sikh family found in CaliforniaIANS

Earlier, Merced County Sheriff's Office in a statement said 36-year-old Jasdeep Singh, 27-year-old Jasleen Kaur, their eight-month-old child and 39-year-old Amandeep Singh were taken against their will from a business.

Merced County Sheriff's Office in a statement on October 4 said the 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.

Died
IANS

"At approximately noon, working in conjunction with our local law enforcement partners, the Sheriff's Office received information that identified Jesus Manuel Salgado (48-years-old) as a person of interest in this investigation.

"Prior to law enforcement involvement, Salgado attempted to take his own life. Salgado is in our custody, currently receiving medical attention and in critical condition."

(With inputs from IANS)

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