Death of 3-year-old is still being investigated by SJPD

Authorities are asking the public for help in locating Ellie Lorenzo, 3, of Fremont. The girl was last seen at the Casa Arroyo Apartments, 405 Rancho Arroyo Parkway, around 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Fremont Police Department)

SAN JOSE – The search for three-year-old Ellie Lorenzo began Friday after her mother received shocking news: Ellie’s father, who was supposed to return the girl to her mother that same evening under the court custody agreement, had apparently committed suicide in San Francisco.

Where was Ellie then?

The next morning, around 4:38 a.m. on Saturday, an employee at a San Jose recycling plant called police and received a horrific response. The body of a little girl had been found where bottles, cans and other recycling materials were being processed at the GreenWaste plant on Gish Road.

During a press conference on Monday, San Jose Police Sergeant Jorge Garibay could say little more about the tragedy than was revealed over the weekend, as the medical examiner is still trying to confirm that the body is Ellie.

When she was found, there was no obvious cause of death, Garibay said, but it is under investigation as a homicide. Whether the father, Jared Lorenzo, was responsible for the killing is still under investigation, he said.

The police are convinced that the death was an isolated incident, he said, and “do not believe there is a threat to public safety.”

Ellie’s mother did not attend the police press conference and, through a friend, declined to comment Monday while the investigation was ongoing.

Court records show that Ellie’s parents had separated and the court was in the process of determining custody of her. A custody hearing is scheduled for July 18.

Ellie was last seen at the Casa Arroyo Apartments in Fremont, where her father lived, around 6 p.m. Thursday. According to the custody agreement, Ellie’s father was supposed to bring her back Friday night. But when Ellie’s mother received news of Lorenzo’s suspected suicide earlier that day, she filed a missing persons report for her daughter at 12:25 p.m.

“We’re trying to figure out how it happened, why it happened and where it actually happened,” Garibay said, “because at this point we weren’t 100 percent sure.”

San Francisco police did not immediately respond to requests for details about the father’s suspected suicide.

“We always want to find out why this happened. Could we have done something to prevent it?” Garibay said. “But in this case, we will never make sense of it. The tragic loss of a three-year-old will never make sense.”