NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — A 4-year-old boy and his 45-year-old father are dead after the boy's mother faced what the Tuscarawas County Sheriff is calling a mental health crisis.
A Holmes County family took a trip to Atwood Lake this past weekend, where the father and the 40-year-old mother believed God was speaking to them, telling them to jump into the lake and perform different "tasks" early Saturday morning, Tuscarawas Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell said during a press conference on Monday.
Watch the full press conference here:
"She and her husband went to this dock, and they jumped into the water because God was speaking to them, telling them to do things," Campbell said. "Things to prove their worthiness to God, to show their faith as complete. And they didn't do very well in those. Some of those were bizarre. Some of those were just swimming exercises."
Once the two returned to their RV, the father, Marcus Miller, expressed that he was disappointed in himself because "he didn't do very well in his tasks," Campbell said.
Miller then went immediately back to the lake around 6:30 a.m. to swim to the sandbar. He stripped his clothes before getting into the water, and his wife did not see him again, according to Campbell.
"For the longest time, we didn't know if that was true; we didn't know if we could believe her statement," Campbell said. "We did run into a witness that put him alone at that dock, wearing the clothes he left behind at the dock at 6:30 a.m."
Around 8 a.m. that Saturday, the mother put her 4-year-old son into a golf cart and began driving erratically. Campbell said she claimed to have "thrown the child into the water" during interviews with law enforcement.
"There was a pretty immediate statement that she had given her son to the Lord," Campbell said.
The mother then drove back to the RV, picked up her 15-year-old daughter, and made her get into the lake. She then went back another time and picked up her two 18-year-old twin sons, making them get into the lake as well, Campbell said. The mother made the teens perform tasks in the water similar to those she and her husband had done.
After they got out of the water, the mother made the teens lie on the dock with their hands in the water and pray for the 4-year-old and their father, Campbell said.
"At one point, according to the children, she makes them all lie down on the dock with their hands in the water to pray for their little brother and father because they were gone to heaven,” Campbell said.
Witnesses also saw the mother and the teens huddled together near the kayak launch, being emotional and praying together, Campbell said.
Around 10:30 a.m., the mother was driving erratically again in the golf cart with the three teens just before she sped into the water, with the golf cart flipping off the edge of a stone wall, Campbell said.
Witnesses tried to chase after the cart, thinking that it was an accident that the mother drove in, Campbell said.
The teens were able to get out of the cart safely from the water while witnesses helped the mother out of the water, Campbell said.
"The first witness that arrives ... is asking the woman does she needs help up, and he tries to help, but she's suggesting him not to help her, to just to pray for her," Campbell said.
After first responders had conversations with the woman and children, they became worried about the safety of the 4-year-old boy and the woman's husband, who could not be found, the sheriff's office said in a statement over the weekend. The sheriff said on Monday that she tried to flee and hide in the weeds but was easily located.
The mother was transported to a nearby hospital, where she informed law enforcement that she had thrown the child into the water and even drew a map to where they could find the child's body, Campbell said.
"She began to express more that she had thrown the child in the water to give that child to God," Campbell said.
The body of the 4-year-old boy was located at the bottom of the lake around 6 p.m. on Saturday, Campbell said. The search for the father ended for the day around 9:30 p.m. because of the darkness.
"I know the diver that found the little boy personally, I've known him for many years, and I can tell you that he swam underwater, directly upon him, and it immediately affected him," Campbell said. "He came out of the water highly emotional."
RELATED: 4-year-old, 45-year-old found dead at the bottom of a Tuscarawas County lake
Search efforts resumed Sunday morning, and the body of the father was also found at the bottom of the lake about 50 yards off the dock, Campbell said.
The official causes of death for the two are still pending, according to the Tuscarawas County Coroner.
The mother currently remains in a mental health facility, and an aggravated murder charge is pending, Campbell said. The three teens were given to family members.
According to Campbell, the family belonged to an Old Order Amish Church in Holmes County. The family and the church released the following statement regarding what had happened:
"The church and family want to thank the law enforcement and rescue personnel for all that was done during this tragic weekend.
The family involved are members of the Old Order Amish Church. As a church of Christian faith, we believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the events of this past weekend do not reflect our teachings or beliefs but are instead a result of mental illness.
The ministry and extended family have been walking with them through their challenges, and they had also received professional help in the past.
At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family directly affected. We stand beside them in their grief and ask that their privacy, as well as that of the broader community, be respected during this difficult time. We kindly ask that the public and media honor this by allowing space for healing.
The extended family encourages anyone facing mental health challenges to seek professional help, as recent events do not reflect the loving and caring family they were always known to be."
