Benjamin Ashford|1 of 2 abducted Louisiana children is found dead in Mississippi after their mother is killed

JACKSON,Benjamin Ashford Miss. (AP) — A Louisiana woman was found dead in her home Thursday, and her two young daughters were abducted and found hours later in Mississippi — one dead and the other alive, police said.

A Louisiana resident who had dated the woman was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, in connection with the deaths and abduction, investigators said.

“He had the victim’s car along with her alive-and-well 6-year-old child,” said Chief Deputy Jimmy Travis of the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Office in Louisiana.

The body of the other child, a 4-year-old, was found near the car in a wooded area in Jackson, Travis said.

Louisiana State Police issued an Amber Alert for the children after their mother, Callie Brunett, was found dead in her home in Loranger, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Baton Rouge. She had been reported missing after no one had spoken with her since Tuesday, Travis said. A cause of death was not immediately released.

“This was just an unspeakable crime,” Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims’ family. It was a horrendous tragedy.”

Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said officers contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation’s human trafficking division about the case. He said small animal cages were discovered at the wooded area where the children were found.

“He tried to do away with the children by taking them into this wooded area,” Wade said of the suspect, adding, “This was a horrible, horribly tragic situation that was committed by the actions of a coward.”