Sacramento police: 2 missing children possibly dropped off in Southern California as father fled
Detectives believe it’s possible two missing children were dropped off somewhere in Southern California at some point after their mother was found dead in a Sacramento home and their father was spotted heading south into Mexico.
In a Thursday evening update on the missing persons case, the Sacramento Police Department urged anyone who has seen Athena Lee, 4, and Mateo Lee, 2, to call authorities immediately.
The children’s mother, identified by coroner’s officials as Angelica Marie Bravo, 28, was found dead Monday evening. Detectives have been looking for the children since Tuesday, when they determined the children were missing and believed their father, Camron Lee, took them.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday, the California Highway Patrol issued an endangered missing advisory alert for the two children and their father. It was in effect for Fresno, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Merced, Orange and San Diego counties.
Police officials were informed on Tuesday that U.S. Customs and Border Protection cameras spotted the gray 2023 Honda Passport investigators believed Camron Lee was driving heading south into Mexico.
Bravo’s body was found after officers were called shortly before 7:30 p.m. Monday to the 3700 block of Didcot Circle in the Oak Knoll neighborhood, police said. Officer Anthony Gamble, a Sacramento police spokesman, said the woman’s friends had alerted authorities to check on her.
A woman was found unresponsive in a bathtub, according to archived audio dispatch calls reviewed by The Sacramento Bee. Dispatchers categorized the call as either a domestic violence incident or to investigate a dead body.
Medics from the Sacramento Fire Department pronounced the woman dead at the scene, and homicide detectives arrived at the home to begin a death investigation, police said.
How Bravo died is unclear. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office has classified the death as “undetermined” until a further autopsy has concluded.
On Wednesday, the police spokesman said the woman’s death has not been confirmed to be a homicide, because investigators are still trying to determine the cause of her death.
Other family members have told police the children were last seen Saturday, two days before their mother was found dead.
Endangered Missing Advisory Alert - Fresno, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Merced, Orange and San Diego Counties
Last seen: Didcot Cir., and Morey Ave., Sacramento@SacPolice
IF SEEN, CALL 9-1-1 pic.twitter.com/oMPfs4BvVL— CHP - Alerts (@CHPAlerts) July 11, 2024
Investigators also have stopped short of calling Lee a suspect in the woman’s death. Gamble has said detectives continue to look for Camron Lee, as well, and were asking federal authorities to help with that search in Mexico.
He said the children’s information has been entered into the missing persons database and shared with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Police Department at 916-808-0560 or the Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a $1,000 reward. Officers also encouraged tips via an email address: missingpersons@pd.cityofsacramento.org.
