The bodies of a man and three young children have been found in an Indianapolis pond following the search for a missing family.
A car was removed from the water overnight on Tuesday in Indiana, possibly ending the search for the father and children.
The bodies haven’t been positively identified, but they were found along with a car matching the description of Kyle Moorman’s vehicle in an area where the dad regularly went fishing at night, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Assistant Police Chief Chris Bailey said: “We are still working to positively identify the individuals involved but there is commonality with the Moorman family.”
“The Marion County Coroner’s Office will make all identifications and issue a cause of death,” he added.
Chief Bailey said the four deceased individuals likely are Kyle Moorman, 27, and his three children – Kyle Moorman II, 5, Kyannah Holland, 2, and Kyran Holland, 1.
The pond had been searched for days by family and friends as well as the area around an intersection in the vicinity.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Mr Moorman and his children were last heard from at around 11pm on 6 July.
The sister of the missing man, Mariah Moorman, said on Monday that Mr Moorman’s phone was last pinged at 12.40am on 7 July close to the pond.
“As far as we know, he was coming out here to go fishing,” Ms Moorman said on Monday, according to The Star. “That’s what he told my sister. It’s not odd. He does it all the time. They go night fishing a lot.”
Family and friends offered a reward of $10,000 to anyone able to provide information that would lead to Mr Moorman and his children being found.
On Tuesday, a private helicopter searched the area and volunteers looked for the family members in the pond by boat.
First responders used flashlights and dogs to search for the missing family on Tuesday night and in the early hours of Wednesday.
IMPD officer Samone Burris first confirmed the discovery of an unresponsive man found in the water who was pronounced dead at the scene. The bodies of the three children were found later in the vehicle at the bottom of the pound, according to Chief Bailey.
The Indianapolis Fire Department Dive Team and the Department of Natural Resources found the black Saab using sonar technology, a press release said.
A family member of Mr Moorman’s mother said the authorities should have searched the pond earlier.
“They should have at least tried,” William Muse told The Star.
Chief Bailey said the investigation will endeavour to discover how the family died and why when asked why the pond wasn’t searched earlier.
“That’s circumstances that the investigators are going through,” he said. “They follow up multiple leads. They follow their processes, they follow their procedures. As we piece this all together we’ll know more about the why’s and how’s that led us here tonight and other locations we’ve been at as we investigated.”
“This is heartbreaking for everyone involved,” he added. “Regardless of circumstances, we know a man and three young kids are dead tonight. We don’t know why and we don’t know how ... We all need to support the family and wrap our arms around them tonight and the days that are to come as they grieve this loss.”
