Tuesday, October 23, 2012

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (AP) — Authorities searched Tuesday for a 10-month-old girl who was declared missing after her grandmother was found slain inside a suburban Philadelphia apartment.

Investigators are focusing on reuniting Saavni Venna with her parents in two probes that are "intricately connected," Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

Investigators did not immediately release details on the death of the girl's grandmother, 61-year-old Satyawathi Venna. Ferman would not say how the woman was killed or whether there were any suspects in the case.

"All of our resources are focused on finding Saavni and reuniting her with her parents," Ferman said in an interview. "The search for the child is intricately connected to the homicide investigation."

Police issued an Amber alert for Saavni Venna on Monday following the discovery of her grandmother's body at the Marquis Apartments in King of Prussia. Later in the night, the girl's father issued a tearful plea for his child's return.

The FBI is assisting in the investigation, said Frank Burton, a spokesman for the agency's Philadelphia office.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.