Police say Ruben Fregoso may have fled after his wife was found dead.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A search for a missing 5-year-old girl stretched from Los Angeles to the border after police said her father became a person of interest in the violent death of her mother.
Los Angeles police identified the father as Ruben Fregoso, 40, and the child as Daleyza Fregoso. Detectives said the girl’s mother was found dead Monday in West Adams, turning a welfare check into a homicide investigation and prompting a multi-county Amber Alert.
The case began when Southwest Area officers were sent to a home in the 2600 block of South Alsace Avenue at 12:39 p.m. Monday. Police said officers found an adult woman dead inside. Investigators have not publicly released her official identity or the exact manner of death, but said the death involved violence.
Detectives later named Fregoso, the woman’s husband, as a person of interest. LAPD said he and the couple’s daughter were missing. Police also said Fregoso had made statements suggesting he intended to leave the country, a detail that shifted attention south toward San Diego County.
The Amber Alert said the girl had been abducted and that she and Fregoso were believed to be traveling in a white 2019 Land Rover Discovery. Authorities later found the vehicle in a parking structure in San Ysidro, near the U.S.-Mexico border. Neither the father nor the child was found with it.
Video from the parking structure showed a man who appeared to be Fregoso walking with a child, according to local reports. Police released updated images as they continued to look for the pair. Investigators have not said whether they confirmed the two crossed into Mexico.
Daleyza was described as 3 feet tall and about 45 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Fregoso was described as 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 200 pounds, also with black hair and brown eyes. The search remained active in Southern California while investigators worked the homicide scene in West Adams.
On Alsace Avenue, neighbors and friends mourned the woman found dead and described the child as friendly and well known nearby. The home became a small memorial site, with flowers and candles placed outside as police continued collecting information about the family’s final known movements.
No criminal charges had been announced as of Thursday. LAPD detectives continued to seek Fregoso and Daleyza while the homicide investigation and Amber Alert remained active.
Author note: Last updated May 28, 2026.