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A mother is accused of crashing a golf cart into a lake with three of her children inside, leading police to discover the deaths of her 4-year-old son and her husband separately, local authorities announced.

The incident happened around 10:39 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell of the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office wrote in a news release.

According to Campbell, the woman was with her 18-year-old twin sons and 15-year-old daughter when she drove a golf cart into Atwood Lake next to Atwood Marina West, about 84 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Her children got out of the water on their own, and when individuals at the scene helped the woman out of the water, she “made concerning statements about conversing with God,” Campbell said.

“It was evident that the crash into the water was intentional by the mother,” Campbell said, adding that investigators spoke to the woman and her children and learned her 4-year-old son and husband were unaccounted for.

The 4-year-old, Vincen Miller, and his father, 45-year-old Marcus J. Miller, were eventually found dead, the sheriff said. Their remains have been taken to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies, the Tuscarawas County Coroner's Office said in a news release on Monday, Aug. 25.

Both the coroner and sheriff's office in Tuscarawas County are actively investigating the case, the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office said. Campbell said authorities believe Marcus Miller died by suicide.

The woman has been hospitalized for mental health concerns. USA TODAY has contacted the sheriff's office to ask whether the mother will be charged.

The 15-year-old and 18-year-old twins were released to family members, Campbell said.

Witnesses thought vehicle was a runaway golf cart, tried to get the mother to brake

Sheriff Campbell said in the news release that the family is Amish and lives in Holmes County, about 35 miles west of the lake where it happened. They were visiting the lake for the weekend, he said.

"She made the other kids go through some ritualistic type stuff," Campbell told television station WKYC. "Then at some point, she decided that she had to drive them into the lake, and honestly, she flipped the golf cart in the lake, but it wasn't deep enough. The kids immediately got up.”

According to Campbell, multiple witnesses saw the woman driving the golf cart toward the lake and thought it was a runaway cart. When bystanders realized she was driving the cart, they tried to get her to brake.

4-year-old son and husband were found dead separate from golf cart crash

Once authorities found out there was a man and a 4-year-old unaccounted for on Aug. 23, they began searching for them, the sheriff said.

“Numerous locations were searched without finding the … boy or the husband,” Campbell wrote. “It became evident after piecing together numerous statements from the woman, the children and other witnesses above that foul play was suspected.”

The boy was found dead just after 6 p.m. that day at the bottom of the lake, but by the end of the day, the husband was still missing, the sheriff said. Once it got too dark to search, authorities called off the search for the man and returned around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24.

Sheriff Campbell told WKYC that the woman admitted to putting the youngest child into the water.

"She believes she was told to do that," Campbell told the outlet. “She seems genuinely sincere about the fact that she was told to do these things.”

Sheriff believes father died by suicide

Sheriff Campbell announced on Sunday, Aug. 24 that a witness last saw the man around 1:15 a.m. The witness said the man was with his wife near the same boat dock where the 4-year-old was later found dead.

Investigators used sonar boats and had divers check around that boat dock. Shortly after, they picked up an image about 50 yards from the edge of the dock, Campbell said. Divers went into the water and around 8:30 a.m., found a man believed to be the missing husband and father.

According to the sheriff, the woman's husband intentionally drowned himself.

"We believe he went in the water and probably died hours before the child," Campbell told WKYC. "They believed they were, you know, speaking with God and getting missions from God, and that this gentleman went on a mission himself, as he was told.”

Sheriff’s detectives spent the rest of the day executing a search warrant and looking for more clues, the sheriff said, calling the incident an “unusual tragedy.”

Sheriff Campbell said there were over 15 agencies that helped with the search and investigation, including multiple fire departments.

This story has been updated with new information.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A mom crashes a golf cart into a lake. Then, police make gruesome discoveries.

Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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