Homicide detectives are investigating the death of an infant found behind a building in Bellflower on Monday, authorities said.
Deputies were called shortly after 10 a.m. after a worker made the discovery behind Funeraria del Angel, a mortuary at 10333 Alondra Blvd., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Steve Blagg said in a news briefing.
The worker, who was cleaning up the ground at the time, immediately called 911, Blagg said.
The child — a female around a year old — was found in an upright car seat, covered by a blanket, the detective said.
Paramedics pronounced the baby girl dead at the scene.
As of Monday afternoon, she had not been positively identified.
Investigators were speaking to potential family members, but Blagg declined to divulge who they were or how officials came into contact with them.
No one was in custody, he added.
The child’s cause of death is still unknown, and coroner’s officials were still en route to the scene around 4:30 p.m.
No signs of trauma were immediately apparent, according to Blagg.
“We could only see very little,” he noted. “We’ll be able to examine more once the coroner gets here and we have an autopsy.”
Detectives are unsure how long the baby’s body had been there.
Footage from the scene showed detectives were investigating in the area of Ron Yary Way and McNab Avenue, and had Hayford Street blocked off with crime tape at Alondra.
Several sheriff’s vehicles were stationed near a dumpster, where a detective was seen taking notes.
Bellflower High School and several fast-food restaurants, including a Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Taco Nazo, are located along the same strip of Alondra Boulevard.
The baby’s body was discovered as a search was ongoing for a man reported missing from Northern California along with his 8-month-old daughter, sheriff’s officials said in a written statement. The man and child had last been seen about 10:30 p.m. Friday in Bellflower.
The missing man, 30-year-old Alexander Echeverria, was driving a gray, 2014 Volkswagen Jetta with a California license plate of 7FFT866.
“The missing person suffers from depression and the family is concerned for his wellbeing,” the sheriff’s department statement said.
Sheriff’s officials said homicide detectives investigating the baby’s death were aware of the missing man and baby and were looking into the possibility the cases might be related. But the baby who was found dead Monday was yet to be identified, and no concrete link had been established.
Anyone who may have been in the area late Sunday night or Monday morning and noticed anything suspicious was asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5900. Anonymous tips may be submitted via 800-222-8477 or www.LACrimeStoppers.org.