by Authorities in Merced, California have released chilling footage of the moment a family of four was kidnapped at gunpoint from their trucking business.
Surveillance footage shows a masked suspect leading brothers Amandeep Singh, 39, and Jasdeep Singh, 36, out of a building on Monday with their hands zipped behind their backs.
The truck leaves for a few minutes before returning when Jasdeep’s wife Jasleen Kaur, 27, and their 8-month-old child Aroohi Dheri, are led from the building to the truck.
A person of interest is in custody, but the four family members remain missing.
“We are devastated, we are shocked, we are dying every moment,” an unnamed relative said at a news conference on Wednesday.
The video was released by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office at the press conference as they asked for information from the public.
“It’s very upsetting, right now until we can get our loved ones back, that’s where we are,” Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said at the news conference.
“First and foremost we want the family back.”
8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her mother Jasleen Kaur (27) and her father Jasdeep Singh, left, and Amandeep Singh, right, are still missing
(Merced County Sheriff’s Office)
This undated image released by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office shows a person of interest outside the abductee’s family’s business
(Merced County Sheriff’s Office)
An image of the suspect in Monday’s kidnapping in Merced County, California, has been released by police
(Merced County Sheriff’s Office)
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office announced it had arrested 48-year-old Jesus Manuel Salgado in the town of Atwater, 17 miles from Merced.
He is classified as a person of interest in the case. Mr. Salgado is in critical condition in hospital after trying to kill himself, the sheriff’s office said.
Officers are waiting for his condition to improve before they can interview him, and Sheriff Warnke said he believes at least one other person was involved in the kidnapping.
Video released by the sheriff’s office shows Jasdeep Singh arriving at the business in the 800 Block of South Highway 59 in Merced County at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
Mr Singh is seen making contact with the suspect and they walk towards the building.
The suspect then pulls out a firearm and enters the business.
The two brothers were seen being driven from the building at around 9.11am. and be placed in the back seat of a truck.
The truck leaves and returns a few minutes later and the suspect re-enters the area. Jasleen Kaur and her child Aroohi are seen walking out with the suspect a minute later.
Sheriff Warnke told ABC News that he did not know if the family had any “prior history” with Mr. Salgado.
“This individual right now is our only lead,” the sheriff said.
