Police in Indiana say they recovered bone fragments from a backyard after receiving reports that two children had been killed and their bodies had been burned in a fire pit.
On Sept. 20, police in Jasper County received a tip about an individual who, according to the tipster, had allegedly confessed to killing two children and burning their bodies in a backyard fire pit of a Wheatfield, Ind., home, the local sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Jason Wallace, Chief Deputy at the sheriff’s office, tells PEOPLE the individual was the father of the two children. He has not been arrested in connection with the case.
The father allegedly made the confession to acquaintances that he killed two of his “undocumented” children, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said in their Tuesday, Oct. 1, statement.
Wallace clarifies with PEOPLE the “undocumented” status of the children is not linked to immigration; the children are categorized as such because there are no records of them in the state system.
Wallace said the reportedly deceased children are estimated to be between the ages of 0 and 6 years old, but could not confirm further.
After receiving the tip, police launched an immediate investigation and encountered the parents of the children at a hotel in nearby Newton County, where the couple was interrogated, Wallace tells PEOPLE.
“They were cooperative but had nothing to share on the topic, they just denied it,” he claims.
Per the sheriff’s office statement, their cell phones were secured by police for evidence “and additional information was uncovered.”
After obtaining new evidence, police contacted the parents again and they continued to deny having any knowledge of the incident, per the statement. Police removed another allegedly undocumented child who was in the couple’s care.
On Monday, Sept. 30, authorities from several law enforcement agencies carried out a search at a Wheatfield residence where Wallace says the couple had previously lived. Cadaver dogs directed police to three separate locations on the property where police recovered partial bone fragments, per the statement.
Wallace says the couple are not currently living in the residence and are “moving around.”
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The search on the property was conducted by the sheriff’s office, Jasper County Coroner’s Office, Indiana State Police, Wheatfield Police Department and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
The bones are currently undergoing forensic analysis to determine if they belonged to an infant or an animal.
Anyone who has information that they feel may be relevant to this investigation is urged to contact the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at (219) 866-7334 and ask to speak with a detective.
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