Firefighters at work early Monday in Brooklyn.
(CNN) --
Three children who were found unconscious early Monday on the shore of Coney Island in Brooklyn are dead.
Authorities are questioning a woman believed to be his mother, the New York Police Department reported.
The 30-year-old woman, who is believed to be the mother of the 7-year-old boy and the 4-year-old and 3½-year-old girls, department chief Kenneth Corey said at a news conference Monday morning.
She was not in custody at the time and the investigation remains "very active," she said.
As of Monday afternoon, the woman was at a local hospital, New York police confirmed to CNN.
No charges have been filed against her so far.
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There is no indication of prior neglect or abuse, Corey said, citing preliminary information.
"We don't know exactly what happened here," he said, stressing that the information he provided was preliminary.
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Police received a 911 call at 1:40 a.m. from a person concerned that a family member may have harmed their three children, Corey told reporters.
Agents went to the apartment but got no response.
A man who identified himself as the father of one of the children met with officers at the building and told them he shared the caller's concern.
He told police that he believed the woman and children were on the Coney Island boardwalk, according to Corey.
Agents began searching for the woman and children, searching the boardwalk, beach, surrounding streets and the local hospital.
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The search went on for about 90 minutes, according to Corey, until another 911 call directed officers to Brighton 6th Street and Riegelmann Boardwalk in nearby Brighton Beach, where they found the woman and other members of her family. family.
That call referred to a gunned down woman, a police spokesman told CNN.
The woman authorities found was "soaking wet," Corey said, though it was unclear if she had been in the rain or standing in the shoreline water.
The children were not with her, and the search continued with ground, air and port units until 4:42 a.m., when agents found the children on the shoreline of West 35th Street in Coney Island, about three kilometers from where the woman was found.
Officers immediately began CPR on the boys before they were taken to Coney Island Hospital and pronounced dead, Corey said.
CNN's Mark Morales and Liam Reilly contributed to this report.
