Ohio:
Police in Ohio called the case of a missing family a devastating tragedy.
More than a week after they disappeared... investigators discovered the bodies of a mother. Her 11-year-old son and a family friend stuffed inside a hollowed-out tree on Thursday.
Just days earlier the mother's daughter was rescued from this house.
13-year-old Sarah Maynard was in the basement. She had been bound and gagged.
"We're inspired by Sarah. We're inspired by Sarah's bravery. After we met with the families this morning I asked Larry Maynard to convey to Sarah that she was my hero," said David Barber, Knox County Sheriff.
Sarah, her mother Tina Herrmann and her young brother along with a family friend were reported missing last week after Tina never showed up for work at this local Dairy, Queen.
A day later authorities say they found an unusual amount of blood inside her home.
Her pickup truck was found near the campus of a local college.
The only suspect in the case is 30-year-old Matthew Hoffman.
It was in the basement of his home where police found Sarah. Hoffman's an ex-convict and unemployed tree trimmer. Police say he had been watching the family.
"Knowing that their loved ones have been found is obviously a certain sense of relief, sadness and grief because they hoped it wouldn't turn out this way," David Barber, Knox County Sheriff.
Hoffman's in jail on charges of kidnapping Sarah. Authorities say he gave investigators information that led them to the bodies. They say all three were murdered inside his home. But aren't saying how.