Bodies of Missing Family Found in Hollow Tree

The bodies of three missing people in Ohio have been found wrapped in garbage bags and stuffed into a hollow tree, MSNBC reports. Police had been on the hunt for Tina Herrmann, 32, her 10-year-old son, Kody, and a friend of Herrmann's, Stephanie Sprang, 41, since Nov. 10. They were apparently killed at Herrmann's home, investigators believe. Hermann's 13-year-old daughter, Sarah Maynard, is recuperating after being found bound and gagged in the basement of tree trimmer Matthew Hoffman, who remains in custody and charged with kidnapping.

Police were directed to the bodies by lawyers for Hoffman, a 31-year-old drifter recently released from a Colorado prison after serving time for arson and burglary. Hoffman's parents live within walking distance of the Herrmann home, and investigators are probing whether there is any other connection between Hoffman and the murdered family, ABC News reports. Neighbors say Hoffman is a "bizarre" individual who climbed trees to spy on them, and killed squirrels for food.
(More Ohio stories.)