Father, 7 Children Found Dead In Likely Carbon Monoxide Incident
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (WJZ) -- A family of eight is found dead inside their Eastern Shore home -- seven of them were children.
Emergency crews made the gruesome discovery in Princess Anne, Somerset County. They believe carbon monoxide is likely to blame.
Christie Ileto has more on the silent killer that may have wiped out the family.
It started as a welfare check for the father, who hadn't shown up to work for the last two days. When police entered the home, they knew something wasn't right.
Police say Rodney Todd Sr. and his seven children once called this yellow single story home. Now it's a crime scene.
"I've called him and tried to reach out. I came here this morning, banged, ran from door to door," his supervisor, Stephanie Wells, said.
But Wells never heard back.
"I knew something wasn't right when he didn't report to me, he didn't come to work Saturday," she said.
Wells reported Todd missing to police, who then discovered his lifeless body inside, along with his seven children -- between the ages of 6 and 16.
"There was no electricity in the house, and I will say that there was a generator using to run the electric in the house," said Chief Scott Keller, Princess Anne Police Department.
A generator -- police say -- had run out of fuel. There's no official cause of death, but police believe carbon monoxide poisoning is to blame.
According to the CDC, carbon monoxide caused about 430 deaths a year between 1999 and 2010, averaging in Maryland more than one death per 1 million people.
The last major incident was in 2006, when a gas leak at an Ocean City hotel killed a father and daughter, while hospitalizing two others.
But this time: "It's just hurtful knowing him and seven kids are gone," said Wells.
A community tries to pick up the pieces again--Somerset County school leaders even pleading for prayers.
The mother of the children has been notified. The medical examiner from Baltimore will determine the official cause of death.
Counselors will be available at Somerset County public schools for grieving students.