The baby has been missing since the end of January, but his father, who was the last person seen with him, was found dead.
The search for a missing infant whose father was found dead in the woods of a self-inflicted gunshot wound has been called off by Florida authorities, capping off a two-week search for little baby Andrew.
Miami-Dade Police have been searching for two-week-old Andrew since Jan. 28, when his mother Arlety Garcia-Valdes, 40, his grandmother Isabela Valdes, 60, and his great-grandmother Lina Gonzalez, 84, were found shot to death in their Miami-Dade County home.
“Unless something comes in that leads them (detectives) in another direction, it (any new clue) has be lead driven. Right now we’re not looking anywhere,” said Miami-Dade Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, per the Tampa Bay Times. “Of course we’re hoping that somebody does have him and the reason he doesn’t come forward is fear.”
After police discovered the bodies of the baby's family members, an Amber Alert was issued. Pictures of the baby and his father were plastered on major highways, and both police dogs and helicopters were used in the search.
Surveillance video showed that the baby’s father, 49-year-old Ernesto Caballeiro, had taken the infant from the house where his family was found dead that day. But the next day, Caballeiro was found dead in Pasco County and Andrew was missing.
Caballeiro’s vehicle, a white van, was located 50 yards from his body, but there was reportedly no car seat in the vehicle and no DNA from Andrew.
The family’s private investigator, who took on the case pro bono, was still working on figuring out the route the father may have taken to Pasco County before killing himself, NBC Miami reported.
They remain hopeful despite the circumstances.
“I do keep hope that he will appear alive,” Reina Valdes, Andrew’s great-aunt, told the Bradenton Herald. “The last thing one loses is hope. But the [police] have told us there is a possibility that the child will not appear. I keep hoping that he will appear.”
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