Mother tells police she shot one child and drowned another, with a third found safe

FESTUS, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri woman went to a police station Tuesday and told officers that she fatally shot one of her children and drowned the other, authorities said.

Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said at a news conference that authorities believe both children were killed Tuesday morning.

A 9-year-old girl was found dead inside the mother’s car, which was parked outside the Festus police station, where the mother turned herself in. Marshak said the other child had been drowned elsewhere. A 2-year-old boy was found dead in a fountain outside a resort near Festus, a suburb of St. Louis.

Marshak said officers searched for a third child who has been found safe.

The mother, who was from the Festus area, was arrested and the deaths are being investigated as homicides. Their identities have not been released, and authorities have not disclosed a possible motive.