Police questioning Atwater parents who disappeared after infant died

Police said they have now been in contact with an Atwater couple they had difficulty finding after their 2-month-old baby died this week.

Police asked early Thursday for the public’s help to find Brandi Reyna and Dakota Nix, both 21, parents of an infant who died Tuesday at Mercy Medical Center.

Emergency responders were called to an Atwater home about 7:40 p.m. Tuesday after the 2-month-old girl was reported to be not breathing, according to police.

Responders started life-saving efforts and the child was taken to Merced Medical Center in Merced, where she later died, according to Detective Anthony Cardoza.

The baby’s parents were also taken by family to the hospital, police said. The parents spoke to police at the hospital that night, officers said, and then were not seen or heard from until police called from the public’s help.

Police did not say what caused the baby’s death.

The story was shared on Facebook by more than 200 Sun-Star readers on Thursday, including some who “tagged” Reyna.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Police questioning Atwater parents who disappeared after infant died."