Photo: Roman Lopez
The Placerville Police Department released an update from their investigation into the death of 11-year-old Roman Lopez –
“Placerville, CA – Updated information regarding the missing juvenile from Placerville that was found deceased on January 11, 2020.
The Placerville Police Department was contacted on January 11, 2020 regarding a missing 11 year old juvenile, Roman Lopez. After an extensive search of the area, involving multiple agencies and many community members, Roman was found deceased. As many are aware, we have been conducting an investigation into a suspicious death.
As part of this investigation, the Placerville Police Department has been working with other law enforcement agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the tragic circumstances.
The other agencies include the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, El Dorado County Search and Rescue, El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, Sacramento County Coroner’s Office, and the Sierra Law Enforcement Chaplaincy. The support and prospective offered by all these agencies has been invaluable and beneficial to the investigation.
The limited information provided to the public has been essential to this case because of the circumstances. There is very sensitive information that if released, could jeopardize the investigation.
Placerville Police Department continues to investigate this case as a suspicious death investigation even after the autopsy was completed on January 14, 2020. We do not have the pathologist’s report and will not be providing any further information in reference to the autopsy. We do not anticipate that report for another 4-6 weeks.
Through the investigation we have learned that Lindsey and Jordan Piper recently moved to California from Michigan. Jordan Piper, the biological father of Roman, moved the family for a better job opportunity. Lindsey is not the biological mother of Roman.
We have identified the biological parents of all the children involved in this investigation. There were 8 children living with Lindsey and Jordan at the time of this incident. We have their information and will be in contact with them at different stages of the investigation.
We realize there is a considerable amount of speculation surrounding this case. We will continue to provide updates as the case unfolds that will not jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.
We realize that the press and public are looking for answers and mourning the loss of Roman. The police department has also been affected and has been working tirelessly to complete the investigation. The complexity of this case will require time and patience.”
