5 months ago
18
JACKSON: A Louisiana woman was
found dead
in her home Thursday, and her two young daughters were
abducted
and found hours later in
Mississippi
- one dead and the other alive, police said.
A Louisiana resident who had dated the woman was
arrested
in Jackson, Mississippi, in connection with the deaths and abduction, investigators said.
"He had the victim's car along with her alive-and-well 6-year-old child," said Chief Deputy Jimmy Travis of the
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Office
in Louisiana.
The body of the other child, a 4-year-old, was found near the car in a wooded area in Jackson, Travis said.
Louisiana State Police issued an
Amber Alert
for the children after their mother, Callie Brunett, was found dead in her home in Loranger, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Baton Rouge. She had been reported missing after no one had spoken with her since Tuesday, Travis said. A cause of death was not immediately released.
"This was just an unspeakable crime," Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims' family. It was a horrendous tragedy."
Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said officers contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation's human trafficking division about the case. He said small animal cages were discovered at the wooded area where the children were found.
"He tried to do away with the children by taking them into this wooded area," Wade said of the suspect, adding, "This was a horrible, horribly tragic situation that was committed by the actions of a coward."
