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Toddler Found Dead In SUV In Rancho Cordova

RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) — Detectives are investigating the death of a toddler found in the back of an SUV in Rancho Cordova.

Deputies descended on a Rancho Cordova street leading to River Bend Park, searching for clues into how the toddler-aged girl died.

"I came out here about 1 o'clock," Neighbor Scott Ecklund said. "I saw them roping off the park and closing it. There were a ton of police cars."

A sheriff's deputy first noticed an SUV parked the wrong direction in the street. A man and a woman were standing outside.

"He stopped to talk to them, ran a records check, the male happened to have an outstanding warrant out of the state of Arkansas," Sacramento Sheriff Sgt. Tony Turnbull said.

A search inside the SUV led to the toddler's body, under blankets in the backseat.

"There were no obvious signs of trauma, so they're still in the beginning stages of this death investigation," Turnbull said.

Deputies detained the couple. The woman is the biological mother of the girl.

Both are being questioned by detectives with the Sacramento County Child Abuse Bureau and the Coroner.

"It's just tragic, I mean, definitely a tragedy and we need to find out how this happened and prevent it," Ecklund said.

A heartbreaking discovery on a scenic tree-lined street. Now the search for what caused a little girl's life to be cut so short.

Sheriff deputies have not released the names of the girl or the adults detained.

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