A Sikh man was found dead in Napa County on Friday, days after he was kidnapped from the temple in the Central Valley where he had been the head cook for 23 years.
Avtar Singh, 57, was reported missing on February 17 from Gurdwara Gur Nanak Parkash in Tracy, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Singh’s body was found Friday afternoon near Lake Berryessa, more than 100 miles from the temple, by a fisherman.
Police investigating his disappearance located surveillance footage that showed three people dressed in dark clothing had forced him into a white SUV before fleeing. The SUV was found near where his body was found.
A temple spokesperson said that Singh also lived at the temple with his wife their their 6-month-old triplets. His wife found him missing when she returned home from work that day.
The surveillance video showed a man getting out of the SUV in the temple parking lot and knocking on the door of the temple laundry. No one answered, so he knocked on Singh’s door.
The video showed Singh having difficulty understanding the man and calling another man, who also lives at the temple, by phone to help translate. The stranger demanded to know of the man on the phone if he had his “stuff” but didn’t answer when the translater asked what kind of “stuff.”
Singh walked out of the temple with the man to his SUV, where the man tried to shove him inside. Singh escaped, but two other men jumped out and overpowered him, throwing him into the vehicle.
The San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office said that Singh was not the intended target of the kidnapping.
“We believe a different individual was a target and that Mr. Singh was mistakenly taken,” public information orricer Heather Brent said.
The sheriff’s office did not release any further information except to say it was an ongoing investigation.
An autopsy has been completed, but investigators have not revealed the cause of death, KCRA reported.
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[Featured image: Avtar Singh/San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office]
