Investigators: Infant Found Dead In Bellflower Died In Sacramento; Father Missing, Considered Person Of Interest

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Authorities say an infant girl whose body was located behind a Southern California mortuary Monday died in Sacramento.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office identified the baby Tuesday as 8-month-old Alexia Rose Echeverria, daughter of 30-year-old Alexander Echeverria, who remains missing.

Swipe to see pictures of Baby Alexia

Investigators believe the infant died in Sacramento, but have not said exactly where. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is now handling the investigation.

A worker who was cleaning the grounds of a mortuary in the 10300 block of Alondra Boulevard in Bellflower found the body of the baby girl near a dumpster Monday morning. She was in a car seat, partially covered by a blanket.

Alexander Echeverria remains missing. Authorities have released a missing person bulletin on him.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office considers Echeverria a person of interest in the death of the infant. He's considered at-risk, investigators say, due to suicidal statements he reportedly made to family members in recent days.

Karla Alvarado, the infant's mother, spoke about the last conversation she had with her baby's father, Echeverria. She said he had been missing for hours. She saw baby Alexia for the last time through a FaceTime conversation, in the backseat of her car that Echeverria was driving.

"I told him 'If you don't bring my daughter home, I'm going to call the cops,'" Alvarado said. "He was never going to be on his way, he just wanted to win some time to keep running."

Alvarado described baby Alexia as perfect.

"She had just had just learned how to say, 'Mama.' She was already calling me mama. She was clapping for everything," Alvarado said.

Detectives have said Alexander Echeverria is a Northern California resident, but have not said exactly from where.

Reporting from CBSLosAngeles.com contributed to this report.