Dry suit crews and deputies from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office searched Lake Vadnais for the bodies of a mother and her three children on Saturday.
(CNN) —
A mother and her three children whose bodies were found in a Minnesota lake over the weekend have died a murder-suicide, sheriff's investigators said Thursday, their deaths apparently following the suicide of the children's father. kids.
The bodies of three children and their mother are recovered in a Minnesota lake
Police and fire personnel in the St. Paul suburb of Maplewood were dispatched Friday after a woman, identified as 23-year-old Molly Cheng, reported that her husband had shot himself.
The medical examiner later identified the man as Yee Lee, 27, and determined that he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a news release from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office.
Police arranged for social workers to help Cheng and her children, but that afternoon a relative called 911 saying Cheng was going to kill her children and herself, according to the news release.
Maplewood police were able to trace Cheng's cell phone to the Vadnais-Sucker Lake Park area in Vadnais Heights, just north of St. Paul.
A memorial to the three children is seen on the edge of Lake Vadnais.
Agents found Cheng's car in a parking lot and several pairs of children's shoes and car keys on the lake shore.
Rescuers immediately began a search in the water and on land, according to the news release.
One of the three boys, age 4, was found in the lake that night and his cause of death was determined to be drowning and suffocation, according to the medical examiner.
Shortly after midnight, search teams found a 5-year-old boy in the lake and the news release said the cause of death was drowning.
A man is overcome with emotion as search teams search for the bodies of a mother and her three children at Lake Vadnais on Saturday.
When investigators resumed the search Saturday, they found the mother's body and determined her cause of death to be suicide by drowning.
Several hours later, they found the body of the third child, 3 years old;
the medical examiner determined the boy died of drowning and suffocation, according to the news release.
The sheriff's office said the children's deaths were classified as homicides.
"Our hearts go out to the family, friends and community affected by this terrible tragedy," Ramsey County Deputy Police Chief Mike Martin said in the news release.
"The Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the circumstances of this incident to provide clarity and closure to the surviving family members."
Sheriff's Water Patrol Commander Eric Bradt previously said no boats are allowed on the lake, which is 5 to 10 feet deep.
CNN's Natalie Andes contributed to this report
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