2 Young Children Found Alive Outdoors Beside Mother's Body

SPENCER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — People walking a dog Saturday found two young children beside the body of their mother along a western Michigan trail.

The children — both believed to be younger than six — were found about 10:30 a.m. in Spencer Township and may have been outdoors overnight, authorities told MLive.com and WOOD-TV.

"It's horrible," Kent County sheriff's Capt. Kevin Kelley told MLive.com. "I think mom was on the ground and the kids were on top of her.

"We're trying to figure out why she came out here. We're still really trying to piece it all together."

The woman suffered a gunshot wound and police are investigating whether she killed herself. A weapon was found at the scene. An autopsy was planned.

Spencer Township is northeast of Grand Rapids.

Kelley did not know if the children were wearing coats. They were airlifted to a hospital Saturday where they were being treated for hypothermia.

Overnight temperatures in Grand Rapids hovered around 30 degrees, the National Weather Service said on its website.

Investigators believe the woman and children were inside a parked car on Christmas Day, according to WOOD-TV.

She apparently left the children inside the running car before she walked into a nearby field. The children are believed to have left the car at some point to join their mother.

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