A Loranger woman and her four-year-old daughter are dead, her six-year-old found alive, and a suspect is in custody in Mississippi.
The case began with the discovery of 35-year-old Callie Brunett's body in her home this morning, setting off an Amber Alert for her two missing children.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office Chief Jimmy Travis says authorities in Jackson encountered the suspect.
"There was a suspicious suspect checking houses or whatever, checking doorknobs and stuff like that, so after getting a description of him, there was a marshal or an undercover officer in the area that saw this guy and went to apprehend him," said Travis. "He fled, there was a foot pursuit. He was apprehended."
Travis says after questioning the suspect, identified as Daniel Callahan, Mississippi authorities were able to determine where Callahan, left Callie Brunett's car. There, they found 6-year-old Jalie Brunett alive in the vehicle, and the body of 4-year-old Erin Brunett nearby.
According to Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards, the mother was killed in her home on North Cooper Road in Loranger.
Detectives found 35-year-old Callie Brunett dead inside that home, some 24 hours after she was reported missing. According to deputies, Brunett's two children, Jalie, 6, and Erin, 3, were not in the home. Also missingw as Brunett's car.
Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office Chief Jimmy Travis told WWL-TV that Brunett's father discovered her body inside a bedroom around 8 a.m. Thursday. Travis said no one thought Brunett was at the house because no one had seen her, her kids, or her car over the last couple of days.
According to Travis, the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab is on scene to assist the investigation. Travis says the FBI is sending agents to assist in the investigation.