SAN FRANCISCO —

A baby girl, her parents and uncle who were kidnapped at gunpoint from their central California business two days ago were found dead Wednesday, the sheriff of Merced County said.

"Our worst fears have been confirmed," Sheriff Vern Warnke told reporters Wednesday night.

Watch the surveillance video in the player above.

A farmworker found the bodies close together in a Merced County orchard, he said.

The announcement came after authorities released surveillance video of a man kidnapping 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri; her mother Jasleen Kaur, 27; father Jasdeep Singh, 36; and uncle Amandeep Singh, 39, on Monday.

Authorities said they were taken by a convicted robber who tried to kill himself a day after the kidnappings.

"There's no words right now to describe the anger I feel and the senselessness of this incident," Warnke said. "I said it earlier: There's a special place in hell for this guy."

Investigators, including crime lab technicians from the California Department of Justice, would be processing the crime scene through the night, Warnke said. He didn't immediately supply other details.

The family members were taken from their business in Merced, a city of 86,000 people about 125 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco in the San Joaquin Valley, California's agricultural heartland.

Relatives of Jesus Salgado, 48, contacted authorities reporting that he had admitted to them he was involved with the kidnapping, Warnke told KFSN-TV on Tuesday. Salgado tried to take his own life before police arrived at a home in nearby Atwater, and he has since been hospitalized.

Efforts to reach Salgado's family were unsuccessful Wednesday.

The video released earlier Wednesday showed the suspect first walking by the property before talking to one of the men. Later, it shows him leading the men, who had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, into the back seat of Amandeep Singh's pickup truck. The suspect then went back to the trailer that served as the business office and led Jasdeep Singh, who was carrying her baby in her arms, out and into the truck before the suspect then drove away.

Family members said nothing was stolen from the trucking company but that their relatives were all wearing jewelry. Warnke had said that after the kidnappings, an ATM card belonging to one of the victims was used in Atwater, about 9 miles (14 kilometers) north of Merced.

Warnke said the kidnapper made no ransom demands in what he believes was a financially motivated crime.

Relatives of the victims had earlier asked anyone who owns a convenience store or gas station in the area to check their surveillance cameras for images of the suspect or the family. They said they were worried the baby wasn't being fed because the family didn't have any baby food with them at the time of the kidnapping.

"Please help us out, come forward, so my family comes home safe," Sukhdeep Singh, a brother of the victims, said, his voice breaking.

At the earlier news conference, Warnke said detectives had not been able to speak to Salgado, who has been under medical sedation in the hospital, but they were hoping to do so Wednesday with the help of doctors.

"I can tell you that every time he has even come near consciousness he has been violent," Warnke said.

Salgado was previously convicted of first-degree robbery with the use of a firearm in Merced County, as well as attempted false imprisonment and an attempt to prevent or dissuade a victim or witness. He was sentenced to 11 years in state prison in that case, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

He was released from prison in 2015 and discharged from parole three years later. He also has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, the corrections agency said.

Investigators have not found a link between Salgado and the family to show they knew each other before the kidnapping.

"As of right now, we believe it was random," Deputy Alexandra Britton said. "We don't have evidence to prove otherwise."

Family members told KXTV-TV that the office for Unison Trucking Inc., the family's business, had only opened about a week earlier.

"My husband is very peaceful and calm person. We don't have any clue why they kidnapped them," said Jaspreet Caur, wife of the kidnapped uncle.

The sheriff said detectives believe the kidnapper destroyed unspecified evidence in an attempt to cover his tracks.

The sheriff's office said that firefighters on Monday found Amandeep Singh's truck on fire. Merced Police Department officers went to Amandeep Singh's home, where a family member tried to reach him and the couple. When they were not able to reach their family members, they called the Merced County Sheriff's office to report them missing, the office said.

Merced County Undersheriff Corey Gibson said a farmer found a phone belonging to one of the victims on a street in Dos Palos, a town 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Merced, and answered it when the family called it.

Warnke said that while detectives have not established any motive or determined whether Salgado worked with any accomplices, he believes the suspect was driven by money and colluded with someone else.

HOLMES COUNTY, Ohio — A group of 17 missionaries, including children, were kidnapped by a gang in Haiti during their mission trip over the weekend.

The missionaries were in Haiti working with Christian Aid Ministries, an organization based in Holmes County, Ohio.

The group includes 16 Americans and one Canadian. Among them are five children, one of whom is just 2 years old.

Haitian police said members of the 400 Mawozo gang kidnapped the group Saturday in Ganthier, a community east of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The group was on their way back from building an orphanage.

According to the Associated Press, leaders with Christian Aid Ministries sent a voice message to other religious missionaries to alert them of the kidnapping. The voice message asked for prayers that the gang members would come to repentance.

The mission's field director is now working with the U.S. Embassy.

The director's family and another individual with the group were staying at the ministry's base when the kidnapping occurred.

Mike Harris | News 5 Cleveland.

It is unclear if the gang has demanded ransom.

The Christian Aid Ministries' website says that among other services, it provides bible classes, feeds the needy and helps orphans in Haiti and other countries throughout the world.

The organization's 2020 report stated its missionaries returned to their base in Haiti after a 9-month absence due to its political instabilities.

Bishop Gerard Mirbel has been glued to his television screen since he heard the news about the kidnapping.

"They were there to help people," he said.

Mirbel moved to Painesville, Ohio from Haiti when he was 31. Since then, he has dedicated his life's work to leading mission trips back to his home country and helping the people of Haiti whenever he can.

News 5 Cleveland.

"We had a school, we have an orphanage, we feed the population," he said.

Mirbel said while most Haitians are good, hard-working people, the political unrest and devastation from natural disasters have plagued the country with poverty and an uptick in gang violence.

"It's been tough for Haiti," he said. "Things will not last like this forever."

Mirbel said the missionaries' work for Haiti is essential, but they have to do it safely and know the dangers of certain areas in the country.

"It's important to have security," he said. "I help a lot of people by telling them how to protect themselves. I had a chance to be a director of many missions, and there was no kidnapping, there was no gang violence."

Christian Aid Ministries posted the following statement on its website that read, in part:

"As an organization, we commit this situation to God and trust Him to see us through. May the Lord Jesus be magnified and many more people come to know His love and salvation."

Ohio lawmakers are also offering their support to the organization and those affected by the kidnapping.

Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, issued the following statement.

"We have reached out to Christian Aid Ministries to offer any assistance we can provide," Gibbs said. "We are not commenting on details for the time being. We are ready to work with the appropriate agencies as needed for a peaceful resolution. We urge the Biden administration to ensure the safety of Americans abroad. Congressman Gibbs is praying for everyone's safe release."

"Our office is very concerned but this news and has reached out to the White House, State Department, and Department of Justice for more information," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in a statement.

This story was originally published by Jessi Schultz on Scripps station WEWS in Cleveland.