CRESCENT CITY, Calif. – A 14-year-old California girl who was gravely wounded after she and her mother were shot by a man they moved 350 miles to hide from has been taken off life support.
Cecilia Mortenson was removed from life support Friday after her organs were harvested for donation, Del Norte County Sheriff's Cmdr. Bill Steven said.
Authorities say Jerry Wayne Steele, 60, shot the girl and her mother Tuesday at a trailer park in Crescent City, in the northwestern corner of the state. He then killed himself at a nearby beach parking lot.
The mother survived and has been released from the hospital, Steven said.
Steele, who lived in the town of Los Gatos near San Jose, had been facing child molestation charges in Santa Clara County and was under a restraining order to stay away from the girl.
Authorities said the mother and daughter moved about 350 miles — from the San Francisco Bay area to Crescent City — six weeks ago to hide from Steele. Detectives are still trying to determine how he found them.
Authorities found what they called a "kidnapping kit" inside Steele's rental car. It included zip ties, duct tape, night-vision goggles and a stun gun.
He also had a stuffed toy and flowers inside the car, detectives said.
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