The remains of a newborn were found in a Westmont backyard Saturday, sheriff's deputies said.

A homeowner in the 1500 block of West 104th Street, an unincorporated area east of Inglewood, reported finding the remains just after 10 a.m., Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said in a statement.

The 1- to 3-days-old baby was apparently dismembered, deputies said. "Significant portions" of the infant's body were missing.

Neighbors were asked to look in their yards and trash cans for "suspicious items that have been discarded," deputies said.

"Detectives would like to speak with any females who were recently pregnant, are no longer pregnant, and the baby is absent," deputies said.

Britany Placencia, 9, said she found a body part while playing with her dog in her backyard, then ran to tell her mother.

"The dog was sniffing the ball... so I was going to get the ball and I got it. I saw the leg," the girl said.

The girl's mother came out, saw the leg near a bicycle and called 911. Then she found a baby's head in her side yard.



"This was kind of shocking to me, when you hear anything about an infant," said neighbor Lawrence Alston.