Three bodies found Monday inside a partially submerged car in Lake Eufaula along the Alabama-Georgia line were those of a woman and two children, and a person of interest was being treated at a local hospital, authorities said.
The victims have not yet been identified nor has the cause of their deaths been revealed.
Investigators have said the woman and children were likely deceased before the blue Toyota sedan rolled into the water near Old Creek Town Park, reports said. Initial indications suggested a triple homicide although there has been no confirmation.
The three victims were believed to be from outside Alabama, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a statement.
A woman jogging Monday morning first spotted the vehicle and called police, according to WSFA News 12.
The bodies were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for autopsies.
It was unclear whether the man who survived was found inside the car with the other victims. He was flown by helicopter to Southeast Health in Dothan, where officers were stationed and awaiting the arrival of state investigators.
Dothan Police Chief Will Benny described the man as a person of interest, and no arrests had been announced as of late Tuesday afternoon.
Eufaula, where the bodies were found, is about a 45-minute drive south of Fort Benning in Columbus.
Photos showed the vehicle with tinted windows in the lake near shore, but it was visible because the water was at a level that hadn’t reached up to the windows.
The circumstances of how the car wound up in the lake were unclear, as well as how long the vehicle had been there.
The Alabama State Bureau of Investigation is handling the case.
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