Three Vallejo men are wanted in the kidnapping and murder of Avtar Singh, a 57-year-old Tracy man who authorities say was forced into a white SUV outside a Sikh temple and later found strangled near Lake Berryessa. Investigators have identified the suspects as Alberto Alencastro, Alfonso Segura and Barnabe Segura, all of Vallejo with ties to Mexico, and all three remain at large and considered armed and dangerous.
According to CBS News Sacramento, which first reported on the search for the trio, the case has moved from a missing-person report in February to a grand jury indictment and now a public hunt for the men. Singh was reported missing Feb. 17 in the 16000 block of West Grant Line Road in Tracy, as detailed by FOX40. Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators showed Singh with three people dressed in dark clothing before he got into a white SUV against his will, the station reported.
Body Found Near Lake Berryessa
Sources differ on exactly when Singh's body was discovered. FOX40 reported he was found dead in Napa County near Lake Berryessa on Feb. 24, while Stocktonia reported the discovery came three days after the kidnapping, on Feb. 20. The San Joaquin County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Singh was strangled, per the same outlet's reporting.
Investigators believe Singh was never the intended target. The kidnapping, officials say, stemmed from the theft of a trailer, and the person the suspects actually meant to grab was in Canada at the time, according to KION. The Napa Valley Register similarly reported that preliminary information suggested Singh was not the person his attackers intended to abduct.
Flock Cameras Led Detectives to Vallejo
Detectives used Flock license-plate readers to track the SUV believed to be involved in the kidnapping back to Vallejo, where evidence led investigators to focus on Alencastro and the Segura brothers, the Stocktonia report noted. On June 16, four months after Singh's death, a grand jury indicted the three men — Alencastro, 25, Alfonso Segura, 20, and Barnabe Segura, 22 — on murder and kidnapping charges, per the same account.
Despite the indictment, all three remain unaccounted for. KION reported that the men are considered armed and dangerous, and the Sikh community has stepped in with a $50,000 reward for information leading to their arrests.
A Case Still Unfolding
The investigation stretched across three counties — San Joaquin, where Singh lived and was last seen; Napa, where his body turned up near Lake Berryessa; and Solano, where the Flock data pointed detectives toward Vallejo. The timeline, from a February disappearance to a June indictment to a September public search, underscores how long it can take to bring a case like this to the point of naming suspects, even as the men themselves remain missing.
