A 7-month-old boy was found dead Friday in Whittier Narrows Park in South El Monte.
Homicide detectives were sent to the 1200 block of Lerma Road about 8 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Information was not immediately available on the infant’s cause of death.
Sheriff’s Lt. Hugo Reynaga told reporters at the scene that a man who was doing community service work in the park was emptying trash cans when he spotted the small body on the ground.
“This is a 6- to 7-month gestational period baby found with an umbilical court attached to the placenta,” Reynaga said. “That’s all we have at this point. There’s no cameras out here, there’s no video cameras in the park that would give us any more information.
“We’re trying at this point to see if we can locate the mother of the child for medical reasons. She may be in distress or losing a lot of blood, and that’s all we have at this time.”
Investigators suspect that the infant was abandoned for approximately 3 hours before discovery. There was no traumatic injuries on the infant after observation, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Anyone with information related to the boy’s death was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. Tipsters may also use the website lacrimestoppers.org.