Calif. baby snatched by gunman is found dead; police seek clues

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Detectives trying to determine who abducted a 3-week-old infant after shooting her parents and uncle at a Southern California home have few clues and are asking for the public's help, officials said Monday.

The baby, a 10-pound girl named Eliza Delacruz, was found dead Sunday in a trash bin in Imperial Beach, about 120 miles south of Long Beach, where her relatives were shot the day before.

A transient discovered the infant's body at a strip mall in the city near Mexico, raising the possibility that the assailant crossed or hoped to cross the border. Mourners erected a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers outside a pizza shop at the mall.

Long Beach detectives believe the family was targeted for some reason but do not yet know the motive, police spokeswoman Marlene Arrona said. They would say only that they are looking for a male suspect who is either black or Hispanic.

The Long Beach residence showed no sign of forced entry, and nothing was taken, homicide Lt. Lloyd Cox told the Long Beach Press-Telegram.