Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators have begun searching an Antelope Valley landfill for the remains of an infant who went missing in Palmdale earlier this month, law enforcement officials said Tuesday night.
“Unfortunately, this case started as a missing infant and is now a death investigation,” Lt. Omar Camacho told The Times. “We are looking for [the landfill] Based on our investigation, unfortunately we found nothing today.
The missing child, Baki Dewees, was born on April 14 and last seen on May 3, according to a flyer distributed by the family on Facebook.
“me and my family [are] Desperately asking for your help,” the child’s great-aunt wrote on Facebook. “Bucky is only three weeks old. Please help us bring Bucky home to his grandmother.
Two days after the birth, the mother, Rosealani Gaua, 25, was arrested in Ogden, Utah, on charges of aggravated child abuse, intentional child abuse and reckless child abuse, jail records show.
Camacho said Gaua’s four children and the children’s father were with her in Utah at the time. Family welfare officials there subsequently took over custody of the child at the center of the abuse allegations. Camacho asked Ogden officials further questions about the nature of the case.
“We are not investigating the case and we don’t have specific details,” he said, noting that the alleged abuse occurred in Utah.
A law enforcement source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the victim Case is Bucky’s eldest sister.
After Goa’s arrest, the children’s father, Yusuf Dewees, 24, left Utah and returned to Palmdale with the couple’s three remaining children, officials said.
But Camacho said he returned to Ogden a few days later, possibly so authorities there could interview him. Jail records show he was arrested on May 7 and is being held without bail on suspicion of obstruction of justice and making false statements.
Law enforcement sources who were not authorized to speak publicly said Dewees was arrested after being questioned about Buckey’s disappearance and allegedly lying to Ogden police. Camacho did not say whether the alleged obstruction stemmed from incidents in California or Utah.
Ogden police Lt. Glen Bass said Utah police first contacted Dewees and Gaa at a homeless shelter. He referred additional questions to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department about the nature of the arrest and said the two departments are working together.
The case came to the attention of Sheriff’s Department officials after the baby’s grandmother filed a missing report around May 8. phone number. Camacho said the matter was turned over to the department’s homicide bureau a day later. On Tuesday, he said it was too early in the investigation to reveal information about why officials believed the child was dead or suspected how he died.
Camacho said searchers who began combing the landfill on Tuesday were looking for “something specific.” But he said recovering the children’s remains could be a difficult task that may require clearing away layers of trash. Searches could use machines or cadaver dogs, he said, but “sometimes the only way possible is by hand.”
Authorities will resume the search on Wednesday, where the couple lived in Palmdale, according to law enforcement sources.
“If we believed the child was alive, we would have reached out to the public for help,” Camacho said. “But unfortunately, that’s not the case at this time. Right now we just want to give the family closure.”
The remaining two children in California were taken away by child welfare officials, Camacho said. It’s unclear why the family came to Utah.
