Police are urgently searching for a newborn baby boy after his father was found dead following the discovery of three women’s bodies in a Florida home.
Miami-Dade officers began hunting for 49-year-old Ernesto Caballeiro and his one-week-old son, Andrew, who is still missing, on Tuesday.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert on Tuesday for the father and son after three women were found shot dead Tuesday in a rural area in south Miami-Dade County.
On Wednesday, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office announced in a Facebook post that the van described in the Amber Alert was found in rural Blanton, Florida, which is more than 300 miles from where the women’s bodies were discovered.
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said later during a news conference that K-9 units searched a wooded area near the van and found a dead man with what appeared to be a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound from a rifle.
Florida police have found the body of 49-year-old Ernesto Caballeiro (left) who matches the description of a father sought by authorities in the disappearance of his infant baby, Andrew (right)
Authorities found Caballeiro’s body in a wooded area on Wednesday but they didn’t find Andrew (pictured)
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference that K-9 units searched the wooded area near the van (pictured) and found Caballeiro with what appeared to be a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound from a rifle
Authorities said the man matches Caballeiro’s description. Caballeiro was related to at least one of the women found killed, but had not been named as a suspect, police said.
Deputies searched the area between Blanton and nearby Interstate 75 on Wednesday.
‘All we care about right now is that we get that baby back,’ Nocco said, adding that authorities are hoping Caballeiro handed the child off to someone else.
In a Thursday morning Facebook post, police said: ‘After an exhaustive search of the area identified by Sheriff Nocco in last night’s press conference, there has been NO evidence discovered at the scene that confirms Andrew Caballeiro was with Ernesto Caballeiro in Pasco County.
Police said their investigation has revealed that Caballeiro left the Miami Dade County area about ‘four and half hours before arriving at the location in Pasco County, and was only in this location minutes before fatally shooting himself’.
On Tuesday, authorities found the three women, who were all Hispanic and aged between 40 and 80, dead from gunshot wounds inside a home in a remote neighborhood in south Miami-Dade.
Officers were called to the home after a family member stopped by the residence.
The relative had made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the family and found the bodies of the three women, Lee Cowart, a spokesman for Miami-Dade police said.
On Tuesday, authorities found the three women, who were all Hispanic and aged between 40 and 80, dead from gunshot wounds inside a home (investigators at the scene) in a remote neighborhood in south Miami-Dade
Lee Cowart, a spokesman for Miami-Dade police (above), said Caballeiro was related to at least one of the women found killed, but had not been named as a suspect
Authorities also shared a map that suggests the most likely route of travel for Caballeiro. Officers have urged anyone along the route to report any sightings or information to their local law enforcement
The last known contact the women had was at about 10.30am that day, police said.
Police said Caballeiro lived at the home where the triple homicide happened. The home and surrounding road were taped off by police and much of the neighborhood was placed on lock down
The infant is described as white, Hispanic, with black eyes, measuring 20 inches and weighing about seven pounds.
Authorities also shared a map that suggests the most likely route of travel for Caballeiro.
The white van has decals saying ‘Nesty School Services’ and ‘Caution: Transporting Children.’
Officers have urged anyone along the route to report any sightings or information to their local law enforcement.
Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS, or to call 911.