Police have been searching a California landfill for the body of a three-week-old baby after his parents were arrested in Utah. However, authorities have now confirmed that the search has been suspended.
The baby, Baki Dewees, was born on April 14 and has been missing from Palmdale, California, since May. His great-aunt shared a missing person flier on Facebook, highlighting the family’s anguish. The newborn was last seen with his father, Yusuf Dewees, 24, who is currently in jail in Weber County, Utah, charged with obstruction of justice and making a false statement.
Baki’s mother, Roselani Gaoa, 25, is also in custody on charges including aggravated child abuse. It is not yet clear whether either parent has pleaded guilty in response to these charges.
The authorities assume that the baby, missing for more than ten days, is dead. The police reported fox 11 who were searching for the boy’s remains at the Antelope Valley landfill on Tuesday. In an update provided this afternoon, they announced that the search has been suspended. According NBC News, the baby’s father is now a suspect in the death investigation.
A detective who spoke with Eyewitness News did not confirm whether the baby’s remains had been found or what evidence led them to believe the baby was deceased. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement explaining that the investigation had moved from a search for a missing child to a death investigation.
Sophia Paulo, the baby’s grandmother, expressed her deep pain and said: “I can’t even cry anymore. “I’ve been crying so much I feel numb.” The family mentioned that the parents left last week without raising any suspicion. “They just left as usual. It was a normal day. Nothing unexpected happened,” Paulo said.
Brad Parke, Paulo’s longtime boyfriend, was home when the couple left Palmdale and didn’t notice anything unusual. “He said nothing. They were here,” Parke said, adding that the couple went to the Greyhound bus station without Baki. “It’s very sad. I’ve never been in this situation in my life,” he said.
Two days after giving birth to Baki, Gaoa was arrested in Ogden, Utah, on suspicion of aggravated child abuse and other related charges, according to jail records. These charges are not related to Baki’s disappearance but to another case involving Baki’s older sister. Following Gaoa’s arrest, Dewees left Utah with the couple’s three other children and returned to California.
Dewees was arrested May 7 on suspicion of obstruction of justice and making a false statement. Police urge anyone with information about the baby’s disappearance to contact homicide detectives at 323-890-5500.