“We don’t know where their mother is yet, but we are treating this as a possible triple homicide,” Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said Friday during a news conference.
Authorities believe these possible homicides are related to a suicide reported earlier Friday around 10:30 a.m. local time. First responders arrived at a residence in nearby Maplewood and found a man dead, Maplewood Police Lt. Joe Steiner said.
Police say they responded to the lake around 4 p.m., but did not say how the two incidents are related, adding that both investigations are ongoing.
“This is just a tragic event and our hearts go out to the family members and friends involved in this incident,” Steiner said.
Late Friday, water patrol and dive teams were actively searching using drones and other resources, and efforts were difficult in the dark hours, Fletcher added.
“It’s possible that one of the kids is in the woods or somewhere else, but the likelihood is decreasing as time goes on,” Fletcher said.
CNN’s Natalie Andes contributed to this report.
