Authorities are searching rural northwest Tennessee for whoever killed the parents and two other relatives of a baby found more than 20 miles away in an abandoned car seat in sweltering heat, according to officials and CNN affiliate WHBQ.
The slain were targeted in an isolated attack, Dyer County District Attorney Danny Goodman Jr. said he believes, the station reported.
The baby is safe, and nearly a dozen agencies, including the FBI, are hunting for a suspect or suspects as they investigate the deaths in Tiptonville, near Missouri, the Dyer County District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s Offices said.
The child was found Tuesday in a car seat on a “random” front yard in Tigrett, more than 20 miles south of Tiptonville after a passerby called 911 to say a “dark-colored minivan or a white mid-size SUV” had left the child there, the sheriff’s office said; the heat index was 116 degrees.
The baby’s parents and maternal grandmother and uncle, meanwhile, were found dead Tuesday in Tiptonville, WHBQ reported reported, citing Goodman, who serves Dyer County, where the child was found, and Lake County, whose seat is Tiptonville.
They were identified Wednesday as James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15, the sheriff’s office said.
“The investigation, including efforts to identify and apprehend the suspect or suspects, remains active and ongoing,” the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday in a statement.
“This is a deeply saddening day for our community,” said Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box in a statement. “We are committed to uncovering the truth and ensuring justice is served.”
CNN has reached out to the district attorney’s office and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for more information.
CNN’s Gene Norman contributed to this report.
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