Portland detectives issued a public notice Friday seeking assistance in locating a mother who fled a Northeast Portland house after her 2-year-old daughter experienced cardiac arrest and ultimately died of fentanyl intoxication.
Police believe Mary Elizabeth Jacobo, 26, has been involved in an armed carjacking and other violent crimes since fleeing her home three weeks ago, and they consider her armed and dangerous.
According to investigators, anyone with information on Jacobo’s whereabouts should call 911 rather than approach her.
According to a relative, Jacobo attempted to resuscitate her toddler on September 12 before fleeing the Fox Run prefabricated house and instructing a friend to contact 911. Aurora Fernandez was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital later that day.
Jacobo left because she said she had warrants for her arrest, according to Isa Smith, the toddler’s cousin.
According to police, Jacobo is 5-foot-5, 135 pounds, with hazel eyes and brown hair that may have recently been colored blond. She has tattoos on the front of her neck, chest, and left hand.
Jacobo’s father, Michael Jacobo, stated that he has had no recent communication with his daughter. “I’m just scared because I haven’t heard from my daughter since the day my granddaughter died,” he wrote in a text message Friday.
Aurora’s father, Jacob Anthony Fernandez, described her as “the sweetest, most amazing child” who was “full of love and life.” In a social media post requesting donations for his daughter’s memorial, he indicated that he is distraught and “so angry and dying inside more and more every day.”
Earlier this week, police raided a duplex at Southeast 185th and Yamhill, where the mother was last seen, but she reportedly fled before cops arrived, according to Aurora’s aunt, Tina Hodges. Hodges wants Aurora’s mother to be held liable for an “avoidable” death.
“I just picked up my niece’s ashes half an hour ago,” Hodges said, adding that the funeral home contacted her after being unable to reach the girl’s mother or father.
According to his relatives, the toddler has recently been with her father because her mother has been in and out of jail and on probation. According to court records, Aurora tested positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine after Mary Elizabeth Jacobo gave birth to her.
Aurora was reared primarily by her father and maternal grandfather. Her parents separated a few months ago, and Jacob Fernandez lately became homeless, frequently sleeping with friends and family, according to relatives.
He told his family that he would occasionally send his kid off with her mother. According to the family, Mary Elizabeth Jacobo had been staying in the Fox Run complex’s manufactured house for roughly five to six months.
According to state documents, the state Department of Human Services is conducting a critical event review into the 2-year-old’s death while any criminal inquiry is ongoing.