MISSING CALIFORNIA MOTHER FOUND DEAD Near Santa Cruz Hiking Trail as Police Probe Suspicious Circumstances
The missing California mother of a three-year-old daughter was discovered dead near a hiking trail in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Sunday, according to officials.
A hiker discovered the body of Lizbeth Arceo Sedano, 25, along Eureka Canyon Road and Grizzly Flat Road, in a region known as Rattlesnake Gulch in the Corralitos neighborhood. These two roads intersect just outside the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.
The hiker “then relayed that information to us around 9:40 a.m.,” said Ashley Keehn, a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. Officers arrived at the area, discovered the body, and determined it belonged to the young mother reported missing the day before, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office.
The missing persons report was filed after Sedano’s partner, Joshua Gonzalez, called police and threatened to harm Sedano’s daughter with a knife while standing outside the Watsonville Police Department, according to a news release.
ONE DEAD AND THREE INJURED in Early Morning Shooting Incident in Chicago’s South Side
Gonzalez referred to the girl as his stepdaughter in the 911 call, Michelle Pulido, a Watsonville Police Department official, told SFGATE by phone.
The first officer who arrived at the complaint of Gonzalez’s threatening call told him to put down his knife. Gonzalez refused and charged at the police, who discharged his revolver at him. The incident injured Gonzalez, who was transferred to a trauma hospital in stable condition, according to the police department.
Maine Mom Commits Murder-suicide, KILLING TWO DAUGHTERS BEFORE TAKING HER OWN LIFE
When police issued the missing persons report for Sedano, they stated in an Instagram post that they were concerned for her welfare.
The mother’s death is “being investigated as suspicious,” the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office stated on Facebook. “Cause and manner will be determined by our Forensic Pathologist and detectives will continue to investigate this case.”