Police are now offering a $10,000 for the safe return to her family of two-year-old Arianna Fitts, the toddler whose mother, Nicole Fitts, was found murdered in San Francisco in April. Investigators are now saying they believe the girl is alive and still in the Bay Area, however three caregivers who were the last people to have been with the child are no longer cooperating with authorities, according to KRON 4.

Yesterday, a friend of Nicole Fitts spoke with the station and indicated that she believed a conflict with this babysitter may have even led to Fitts's murder, though investigators have not said anything to that effect as of yet. "Like I said, the babysitter has to know something or she has something to do with it," said friend Cheryl Taylor, with whom Nicole had been staying.

The SFPD held a press conference Wednesday announcing the reward, and saying that they had executed search warrants at locations in Oakland, Emeryville, and Daly City as well as following leads in Southern California as well, as CBS 5 reports. It's believed that Ariana Fitts had been spending extended periods of time at a caregiver's home in Oakland while her mother worked at the Best Buy on Harrison Street, and as Taylor explained to KRON 4, a conflict had arisen around Nicole trying to retrieve her child around April 1.

"As far as I know, she was going to Oakland [on April 1], and I told her before she left, ‘baby whatever you do, get the police involved' because Nicole was really upset that night," Taylor told the station. And I told her, ‘whatever you do, get the police involved.’ I said, ‘I’ve had a long day.’ I said, ‘I wish I could stay up and talk to you a little longer, but I am beat, and I’m going to bed,’ and that was the last time I saw Nicole."

Though they didn't discuss them at yesterday's press conference, the names of photos of the people of interest who had been known to care for Ariana are Helena and Devin Martin and Siolo Hearne. The focus is apparently on Helena Martin who was the child's main babysitter. The three apparently gave conflicting statements at the outset of this investigation.

At the press conference, per CBS 5, SFPD Commander Greg McEachern only said Nicole Fitts was going to meet a person known to her the night of April 1, and that was the last she was seen. Her body was discovered a week later, buried in a shallow grave under a piece of plywood in McLaren Park in SF, and search warrants were served the following day. At that time, Fitts's family had not seen Ariana, who was staying with caregivers for extended periods, since February.

"What’s difficult for us in law enforcement, we deal with homicides all the time but you not only have a homicide but you have a missing 2-year-old girl," McEachern said at the conference. "You look at her picture and she’s just an innocent little girl, and she doesn’t deserve whatever has happened to her."

The FBI has also been brought into the kidnapping case as well and are offering profiling services.

The public is being asked to call 911 if they believe they've seen the child, and those with information regarding Fitts's death are asked to contact the SFPD Homicide Unit at 415-553-1145, or the SFPD Anonymous Tip Line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 with "SFPD" at the beginning of the message.

Previously: Slain SF Mom Was Buried Beneath Board Covered In 'Odd Spray-Painted Markings'