A two-year-old White male named Aiden Salcido was found deceased in a remote area of Montana in late July 2019, following a tragic series of events that began with his parents' disappearance from Oregon. Aiden's parents, Daniel Salcido, 21, and Hannah Janiak, 24, had been reported missing from Medford, Oregon, around June 11, 2019. The family was last seen together on surveillance footage in early June making purchases of camping equipment at a Walmart. Concerns for their welfare grew as they had no contact with friends or family. Janiak had been scheduled to begin a jail sentence on June 11 for a 2018 burglary conviction, which she failed to do, leading to felony warrants being issued for both her and Daniel Salcido.
The situation escalated on July 24, 2019, when a Kalispell, Montana, police officer initiated a traffic stop on a green GMC Jimmy with Oregon license plates.
Daniel Salcido and Hannah Janiak, the sole occupants, provided false information and then fled, leading to a police pursuit. The chase ended after deputies deployed a spike strip, and the vehicle went into a ditch. When officers approached the vehicle after attempts to have the occupants surrender were unsuccessful, they discovered both adults deceased from gunshot wounds in an apparent murder-suicide. Evidence suggested Daniel Salcido shot Janiak before turning the gun on himself. There was no sign of Aiden in the vehicle.
The discovery of his parents' bodies without him initiated a multi-state search for the missing toddler, involving law enforcement from Montana and Oregon, as well as the FBI. The public was asked for assistance in locating him. The search was complicated by the fact that his parents had no cell phones or bank cards, making their movements difficult to track. A significant lead came from a receipt found in the couple's vehicle from a Walmart in Kalispell, dated the day of their deaths; however, surveillance footage from the store showed the couple without their son.
Ultimately, tips from the public, who had seen news reports of the incident, were instrumental in leading investigators to a remote campsite in the West Fisher Creek area of Montana. Witnesses reported seeing Daniel Salcido and Hannah Janiak in that area in early July. It was at this abandoned campsite that authorities discovered Aiden Salcido's body on July 27. An autopsy later confirmed his identity and determined that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. The investigation concluded that his father, Daniel Salcido, was the suspect in his death. No arrests were made as the suspect was already deceased.
