Dead baby found behind Bellflower mortuary identified as missing man’s daughter

A dead baby found Monday morning behind a Bellflower mortuary is the daughter of a missing man who was last seen driving in the city with the child, officials announced Tuesday.

Investigators think the baby girl, identified by coroner’s officials as 8-month-old Alexia Rose Echeverria, died in Sacramento before she was brought to Southern California.

The girl’s father, 22-year-old Alexander Echeverria, has not been located, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. He lives in South Sacramento, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

The coroner’s office has placed a security hold on the case, and details about the girl’s death, including any injuries suffered, could not be released, spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said.

Alexia’s body was found at 10:37 a.m. Monday behind the Funeraria del Angel Bellflower morturary in the 10300 block of Alondra Boulevard. The body was found sitting upright in a car seat, with a blanket partially covering it, Det. Steve Blagg said during a news conference.

The body had “no visible signs of trauma from what we could see, and we could only see very little,” he said.

After Los Angeles officials found the girl’s body, their investigation led them to the missing persons case, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said.

Family members had reported Echeverria and his daughter missing earlier Monday. They were believed to be traveling together, and the family was worried because Echeverria had made recent suicidal statements, authorities said.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials originally said the man was 30 years old, but Sacramento records indicate he is 22. He was last seen Friday driving a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta with the license plate 7FFT866.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra