Texas mother, 3-year-old son believed found in ditch in possible murder-suicide

A possible murder-suicide is under investigation after two bodies found in a ditch in Texas were tentatively identified as a missing 32-year-old mother and her 3-year-old son, authorities said.

Savannah Samantha Kriger and her son Kaiden may have been found in a ditch near Tom Slick Park in San Antonio, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Tuesday during a news conference.

The two were reported missing Monday after Kriger was last seen leaving her job early to pick up her son from daycare for a doctor's appointment, the sheriff's office said in a Facebook post. Authorities later found her white 2023 Lincoln Aviator abandoned at Tom Slick Park, they said.

Salazar said a welfare check was attempted at the Kriger home around 6:30 p.m. on Monday night, but they could not enter. Later that evening, the sheriff's office contacted a family member who let them inside.

"I won't go too much into detail on what was found, but they did find some things that led us to believe there was certainly cause for concern for the child, as well as for Savannah," Salazar said.

Sheriff's deputies searched throughout the night for Kriger and her son until ultimately only finding the missing white Lincoln Aviator parked at Tom Slick Park, according to Salazar. Although the deputies recovered the SUV, they could not find Kriger or Kaiden, he said.

Savannah, Kaiden Kriger found in a drainage easement, sheriff says

The search resumed Tuesday at daybreak and that is when deputies and park police found the two bodies in the ditch within a draining easement located off the backside of the park, Salazar said.

"We are operating on the premise that this is Savannah and the child," the sheriff said about the bodies. "It appears that there's some evidence that there may have been some gunshots fired, but again, at this point, it's too early to give anything beyond tentative identification."

In addition to the bodies, deputies found a gun at the scene, Salazar said.

Savannah Kriger is considered the only suspect, sheriff says

The sheriff's office is considering Kriger to be the only suspect, Salazar said. A custody battle between Kriger and Kaiden's father was ongoing with a hearing scheduled to take place on Tuesday, according to the sheriff.

Kriger's and Kaiden's whereabouts became worrying to family members who could not contact them, the sheriff said.

"(Kriger's) phone was going straight to voicemail," Salazar said. "Her location services were off."

When Kriger left her job early, Salazar said her co-workers did not believe there was any "cause for concern."

Salazar said Kriger and Kaiden left their SUV, walked a "considerable ways" from the park to the drainage easement and that's when the possible shooting occurred.

"Disappointed that we're operating on that premise until we can verify," the sheriff said.

Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: San Antonio mother, 3-year-old son believed dead in murder-suicide