After hours of rescue and recovery, authorities were able to recover the bodies of a mother and her three young children from a Minnesota lake.
According to Maplewood police, the rescue and recovery operations at Vadnais Lake just outside of Minneapolis-St. Paul began Friday at 4 p.m. after reports of a possible murder/suicide.
According to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office (one of many agencies supporting local police in the search), the body of the first child’s body was found on Friday night around 7:30 p.m. The body of a second child was discovered on the lake around midnight.
After authorities restarted their search efforts, the bodies of the mother and third child were discovered late Saturday afternoon.
The body of the mother was discovered at 10:40 AM. The body of the other child was discovered about 20 minutes later.
In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Mike Martin, Ramsey County Undersheriff, stated that all remains were being transported to the office of the medical examiner. The office will release information about the causes of death.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher stated Friday that officials are treating the case at Lake Michigan as a potential triple-homicide.
Martin stated Saturday, “That hasn’t changed.”
Authorities believe the search could be linked to a death investigation that involved a suicide attempt earlier in the day.
Maplewood police stated that officers responded to a suicide call on Friday morning. A man was found dead at his home around 10:30 a.m. According to Lt. Joe Steiner, the man is believed to be the father of three children.
Martin stated that family members provided information that led police to search the home for the mother and her three kids as they investigated the death of the man.
Martin and Steiner reported that police were able to locate the phone of the mother to Vadnais lake.
Steiner stated that authorities found a vehicle and other belongings connected to the family at the lake. This led to authorities believing they were still there.
The search was assisted by a dive team, fire, emergency medical services, cadaver dogs, and other resources.
Martin stated that the three children, two boys, and one girl, were all under 5 years old.
Vadnais Lake can be found in Vadnais Heights. It is approximately 7 miles north from St. Paul and 9 mi northwest of Maplewood.
