By admin 
The Central Coast teenager who was allegedly the victim of incest by her father likely ran over her baby with a car shortly after giving birth on the side of the road, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
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Details of the case were revealed for the first time after authorities arrested Sergio Galvez Perez in Mexico on Oct. 4, about a month after he and his 14-year-old daughter went missing.
The girl was also found safe in Mexico, and the FBI is focusing on extraditing Galvez Perez, FBI special agent Scott Schelble said at a news conference in Salinas on Thursday.
“What happened in this case is nothing short of horrific,” Schelble said. “A 14-year-old victim endured unimaginable abuse.”
Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said her office is committed to protecting the privacy and safety of the teenager while uncovering all evidence related to the crime.
“Baby Angelita lost her life,” Nieto said. “She deserves answers, and she deserves justice.”
No one faces homicide charges so far, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Detective Richard Geng said, and authorities declined to answer whether the teenager would face criminal charges when she returned to the United States.
On Thursday, Geng shared the timeline of the investigation during the press conference and opened by reminding the public that everyone involved in the incident is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Baby was found dead beside fields in Monterey County
On. Aug. 1, officers found a newborn infant, Angelita, on Struve Road beside agricultural fields at about 8:30 a.m.
The baby appeared to have suffered extensive crush-type trauma, and she was imprinted with tire marks that belonged to a Mercury sedan, he said. Officers pronounced the baby dead at 8:46 a.m. that day.
Detectives also found a large bloodstain several feet away, where she was likely born. Detectives believe she was moved from the spot she was born to the location where she was crushed by the car, he said.
Video footage showed a beige mercury Sedan registered to the teenager’s parents driving to and from the scene the morning of the incident.
A forensic exam was performed on baby Angelita on Aug. 3, but officers were still awaiting the final autopsy as of Thursday afternoon. That same day, officers served a search warrant at the teenager’s home in the Castroville-Salinas area and found the girl hiding in a closet.
The teenager, her mother 36-year-old Ofelia Garcia Ortega, and Galvez Perez were interviewed, and officers obtained their DNA.
The girl, who was interviewed separately, told officers she had a sexual relationship with an unidentified juvenile man and gave birth without receiving medical care.
The teenager was transported to the hospital, and her mother was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment.
The next day, officers learned that Galvez Perez removed his daughter from the hospital before she was medically discharged.
During the following weeks, Child Protective Services attempted to locate the girl, while law enforcement obtained multiple search warrants to recover phone messages, call records and medical records.
The sedan was forensically processed, revealing blood in the well of the right front wheel that likely crushed baby Angelita.
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Videos and witness statements indicated that the teenager drove herself and her mother, Garcia Ortega, to the agricultural fields on the day of Angelita’s death.
Garcia Ortega was at the workplace that morning, but it is unclear if she knew about the birth. Text messages indicated that her mother did not know about the baby’s death.
Meanwhile, Galvez Perez was in the Bay Area at the time, and there is no clear evidence that he was involved in the baby’s death.
About four hours after the baby’s death, the teenager texted her father in Spanish, saying, ”Awhile ago, I couldn’t hold it anymore and the baby came out,” Geng said. The teenager said she hid the baby from her mother.
Around the same time, the girl’s search history showed that she asked, “what happens if the cops find a newborn baby from a minor” and “how to turn off your iPhone location,” Geng said.
On Aug. 11, officers presented this evidence to a judge, who issued a Ramey warrant for the teenager, which allows them to enter a private residence to arrest her before criminal charges are filed. If she is arrested, the district attorney has 48 hours to file criminal charges, or she would need to be released from custody.
On Aug. 13 and 14, the inside of the vehicle was processed, revealing blood evidence that indicated the teenager was likely the driver who ran over the baby.
Then, DNA evidence revealed that the teenager and her father were the parents of the baby, and a judge issued a Ramey warrant for the Galvez Perez.
At that point, Monterey County sheriff’s detectives re-interviewed the teenager’s family to try to discover her whereabouts, with no results.
By late August and early September, law enforcement received tips that the teenager and her father had left the area
On Sept. 6, an Amber Alert was issued for the girl, and about a week later on Sept. 14, the media shared a tip that led to possible whereabouts of the teenager and her father in Mexico.
Mexican authorities found the father in Mexico and arrested him on drug possession charges, Schelble said. They also located the teenager and took custody of her, he said.
“We share the community’s relief that the victim is now safe,” he said. “Our focus remains on the victim’s continued protection.”
The teenager’s mother was arrested at the Salinas Superior Courthouse on Tuesday.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Garcia Ortega falsified documents allowing her daughter to work in agricultural fields at the age of 13 and let the teenage girl drive a vehicle without a license.
Garcia Ortega also allowed the teenager “to remain completely out of school,” a news release said.
Due to the allegations, Garcia Ortega was arrested on suspicion of two felony charges of displaying or possessing a forged ID, one misdemeanor charge of permitting a child to suffer or be endangered and a misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, the release said.
This story was originally published October 8, 2026 at 4:59 PM with the headline “Teen likely ran over baby after giving birth on Central Coast roadside, sheriff says.”
Read more Teen likely ran over baby after giving birth on Central Coast roadside, sheriff says