Missing 3-year-old Fremont girl found dead at San Jose recycling facility

    FREMONT, California (KPIX) -- The case of a missing child in Fremont now has a tragic ending. Police say the body of a three-year-old girl was discovered at a dump site in San Jose just hours after her father was found dead in San Francisco. There isn't a lot of information being released about the case of missing Ellie Lorenzo but what there is is all bad.

Late Friday night, Fremont police put out an urgent call for help. A man had been found dead in San Francisco and his three-year-old daughter who had been in his custody was nowhere to be found.

"The mother of the three-year-old girl called us, asking if we can check on her welfare at her father's apartment, located here in Fremont," said Fremont Police Sgt. Kim McDonald at a late night news conference. "The mother of the child got news that the father was deceased in San Francisco and the child was not with him at that time. The Fremont police department went to his apartment in Fremont and the child was not located there."

Jared Lorenzo allegedly lived in a second-story unit at the Casa Arroyo Apartments in Fremont. In LinkedIn photos, he can be seen holding his young daughter Ellie. No details were released about how Jared died but police were desperate to locate Ellie as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, this is not a normal sort of call," said Sgt. McDonald. "It's terrifying, it's frightening for certainly the family, for all of us in law enforcement. I mean, we're doing -- we're going to be here late trying to locate this missing child."

Later in the day, Fremont police issued a sad notice on social media, saying: "It is with a heavy heart we report this morning, Saturday, July 13, 2024, we were contacted by San Jose Police Department regarding the investigation into Ellie Lorenzo. Tragically, a juvenile female resembling Ellie was located deceased in their city."

The only details released were that Ellie's body was found at one of the city's recycling facilities. There was no information offered about how she died but, back at Jared's apartment complex, the fear among neighbors was that her father may have been involved.

"I got more information from a gentleman who was walking away from the police officers and he was the one who kind of filled me in on what was happening," said complex resident Michael Vasquez. "Heartbroken, angry. No ... I ... there's really no good way to describe it, other than just all these negative emotions."

At about 4 p.m. Saturday, a line of official cars began entering the complex. Police were seen in Lorenzo's apartment, presumedly searching for clues about how the two deaths may be connected. San Jose and Fremont police will be investigating the discovery of the child's body. At this point, San Francisco police are coordinating the investigation of Jared Lorenzo's death.