Couple may have tried to sell baby boy in Merced

Action News has learned deputies found two month old Anthony Ceja Diaz's car seat near a creek in the same area. He and his mother were reported missing last Thursday.

The Merced County Sheriff's Office is still waiting for DNA test results to determine if a baby found in Le Grand on Tuesday is the missing two month old. But now they may know more about who took him.

The intersection near Our Lady of Mercy School in Merced is where sheriff's deputies now say a couple tried to sell an infant Friday afternoon.

Deputy Tom MacKenzie said, "Someone from the community was actually approached in the area of 27th and Midge Avenue by a man and woman carrying a baby in a car seat, asking if they wanted to buy a baby."

Deputy Tom MacKenzie says the person who reported the strange encounter clearly described the car seat the baby was in. It matched the car seat two month old Anthony Ceja Diaz was in the day he and his mother, Ana Ceja Diaz disappeared from their Planada home. It's also the same car seat a couple spotted as they walked along Bear Creek near Parsons in Merced late Friday afternoon. Authorities took the car seat into evidence, but did not release that detail to protect the investigation.

"The fact that we hadn't put it out, that no one knew it was missing, kind of validates this person's story when he came forward and said he was approached," said MacKenzie. "Especially when he was able to describe the car seat so specifically."

Ana's brother was too distraught to show his face on camera, but told us the fact someone may have tried to sell his nephew only adds to his family's pain and confusion.

Rodolfo Diaz said, "It's just bizarre, and I don't have no words to say. It's just hard to hear this."

Farmworkers found Ana's body burning in an orchard near Snelling on Thursday. The next day, deputies found her abandoned truck with only the base of her son's car seat inside. Then Tuesday morning, a man spotted a naked baby boy on the doorstep of this Le Grand home. Now family members are hoping the infant is Anthony ... and waiting for justice for Ana.

Detectives are now asking for the public's help finding the couple accused of trying to sell the baby.

The man is described as 5'7 to 5'8 with a thin build. He's in his early to mid 40's and has brown hair and a full beard. The female is described as a heavy set woman with brown hair.

Anyone with information should call the Merced County Sheriff's Office.