A Fremont family is mourning the loss of their young child.
The mother of 3-year-old Ellie Lorenzo reported her missing on Friday after the child’s father was found dead by an apparent suicide in San Francisco.
Ellie’s mother posted online that Ellie loved dancing and meeting new people and she so easily made friends and spread so much joy everywhere she went.
The child was supposed to be returned to the mother as part of a custody agreement. On Saturday, Ellie's body was found at the Greenwaste Recycling Center on Charles Street in San Jose.
Ellie’s family has asked for privacy during this time.
Ellie’s family lived in Fremont but police said it is unclear where or how the child was killed and that adds another challenge to an already difficult investigation, as authorities try to determine who handles the homicide case.
At this time, San Jose police are taking the lead in the case.
"We still don’t have a motive. Our circumstances are trying to be figured out and investigated. And once we know where this happened and if there is a jurisdictional issue, I’m sure we’ll work just fine with our neighboring agencies in determining how to best investigate the incident," said Sgt. Jorge Garibay with San Jose police.
Eric Hernandez, who lives near the recycling center, said he can’t believe what happened.
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"I was saddened. surprised to hear about the little girl that was found and hearing about the father too. So it's pretty sad to hear what happened," he said.
