Baki Dewees: Cops look for missing baby's remains in landfill as parents are arrested on unrelated charges
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PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA: Authorities are searching California landfills for the remains of a three-week-old infant after the child's mother was arrested on abuse charges in Utah.
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sifted through debris at the Antelope Valley landfill in Palmdale, just north of Los Angeles, on Tuesday, May 14, aiming to locate Baki Dewees, as reported by NBC Los Angeles.
Baki Dewees was last seen in Palmdale on May 3
The child, born on April 14, was last seen on May 3 in Palmdale, as stated on a flyer circulated by family members on social media. The flyer displayed an image of the young Baki, clad in a yellow sweater and green pants, and mentioned that his last known company was his father, Yusuf Dewees, aged 24.
The sheriff's department reported that their initial response was to a missing child report in the 2300 block of Carolyn Drive, Palmdale. "During the early stages, the investigation transitioned from a missing child search to a death investigation," it said.
The statement further verified that the parents of the boy, who have three additional children, were detained and are being held on charges that are not related to their missing son.
Baki Dewees' parents are behind bars
Jail records indicate that Roselani Gaoa, 25, Baki's mother, was arrested on April 16, merely two days following his birth, on charges of intentional, reckless, and aggravated child abuse. She is currently detained in Ogden, Utah, located north of Salt Lake City.
Yusuf Dewees, the child's father, was taken into custody on May 7 facing charges of obstruction of justice and providing a false statement intended for use at a preliminary hearing, according to the records.
So far, there has been no indication of the evidence that led police to the landfill site.
The sheriff's department has refrained from making additional comments. On Tuesday, Lt Omar Camacho provided a statement to the Los Angeles Times saying, "Unfortunately, this started off as a missing infant, and now it is a death investigation. We’re searching [the landfill] based on where the investigation has taken us, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to find anything today."
Baki Dewees' grandmother is seeking social media's help to locate him
The child’s grandfather Brad Parke told NBC Los Angeles, "When the baby came up missing, that's when you know something is wrong. We just want to know where the baby's at. Hoping that the baby's alive, praying that the baby's actually alive."
Parke mentioned that his stepdaughter, the baby's mother, had relocated from Ohio to California with her husband and their three other children, aged 1, 3, and 5. However, "things didn't work out," leading Yusuf Dewees to decide to "go his own way."
Sofia Paulo, Baki's grandmother, who has been seeking assistance through social media to locate him, informed NBC Los Angeles via telephone that he was merely a few days old when Gaoa was apprehended on suspicion of child abuse during their stay at a Utah shelter.
Paulo reported raising the alarm when after calling the shelter to inquire about Baki, she discovered he was missing.
