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Two-year-old boy missing after both parents found dead in apparent 'murder-suicide'

It is thought the father, Daniel Salcido shot his partner, Hannah Janiak, before turning the gun on himself after they were stopped by police. 

Corazon Miller
Sunday 28 July 2019 17:43 EDT
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This undated photo provided by the FBI shows two-year-old Aiden Salcido who remains missing after his parents died.
This undated photo provided by the FBI shows two-year-old Aiden Salcido who remains missing after his parents died. (AP)

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Authorities are looking for an Oregon toddler who remains missing after his parents died in what is believed to be a murder suicide.

The Medford Police Department and the FBI are searching for Aiden Salcido, aged two, whose parents Daniel Salcido and Hannah Janiak died after fleeing from police.

The couple, who had felony burglary warrants for their arrest, were found dead on Wednesday in Kalispell, Montana.

Shortly before, officers had stopped a car and identified Salcido and Janiak inside. However, the couple fled the scene.

The police officers gave chase and spiked the car’s tyres, forcing it to come to a stop. When officers approached the vehicle they found the couple dead inside.

In a statement, the FBI said Janiak was found with a gunshot wound to her head and Salcido appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Their son, Aiden, was not in the vehicle, which officers described as a 1996 GMC Jimmy with Oregon license plates.

Earlier in the month, warrants had been issued for the couple after Janiak failed to show up at court.

The Jackson County, Oregon, Sheriff's Office had investigated the couple for a burglary in 2018, the FBI said.

Both were convicted of the charges, and Janiak was to begin serving her sentence at the Jackson County Jail on 11 June. She did not show up for her sentencing.

Felony warrants were subsequently issued for the couple's arrest.

The FBI said relatives were concerned for the couple and their son because they had not made contact with any friends or family.

Investigators searched Janiak's financial records and found that the last activity was on 3 June and 4 June, when two purchases were made at a Walmart in Medford, the FBI said.

Hannah Janiak, left, and Daniel Salcido, were the parents of Aiden Salcido.
Hannah Janiak, left, and Daniel Salcido, were the parents of Aiden Salcido.

The purchases were caught on surveillance video, which showed the parents and Aiden together. The couple purchased camping equipment, the FBI said.

Along with camping gear and clothing, detectives found a receipt in the car from the Kalispell Walmart dated 25 July, the same day they died.

Salcido and Janiak appeared in the surveillance video, but Aiden did not, Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino told the Flathead Beacon.

The relatives described Janiak to law enforcement as a good mother who had mental health issues. Relatives also said the family was homeless and would camp along the greenway in Medford.

In a statement the Kalispell Police Department said: "Investigators are greatly concerned for Aiden's welfare and are asking for the public's help in locating him safely and expeditiously."

Anyone with information on his whereabouts or information on where the family had been staying during the time they were reported missing is asked to contact Medford police at (541) 774-2258.

Additional reporting by AP

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