Authorities have been trying to piece together a tragic series of events that resulted in the deaths of two members of a Holmes County Amish family at Atwood Lake Park on Saturday.
The bodies of a four-year-old boy and his father were recovered from the water and Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell says foul play is suspected. Their identities are being withheld at this time.
A press release from the sheriff’s office indicates the situation started around 10:40 a.m. Saturday when the family’s mother intentionally crashed a golf cart with three of her children into the water next to Atwood Marina West.
Those children, a 15-year-old daughter and twin 18-year-old sons, made it out safely and unharmed. The mother was helped out of the water and made what were described as concerning statements about conversations with God.
That’s when authorities learned about the missing four-year-old son and the woman’s husband, launching an extensive hourslong search.
Divers located the body of the four-year-old off the end of a boat dock just after 6 p.m. Saturday. Authorities abandoned the water search after dark but returned Sunday morning and located the father’s body sometime before 10 a.m. near where the boy had been recovered. Sheriff Campbell’s release says a non-family witness reported last seeing the father at about 1:15 a.m. Saturday at the boat dock near where their bodies were later found.
The mother has since been hospitalized for some mental health concerns. Her other children were released to other family members.
The Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s office says it continues to investigate. A press conference is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
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