“We have to find these children”

LORANGER — Police made an urgent appeal Thursday for the safe return of two young girls missing from a Loranger home where their mother was found dead.

“Please. Please put the kids in someone's care,” said Tangipahoa Parish Deputy Chief Jimmy Travis. “Take them to safety. Call law enforcement to pick them up. If you don't want to do that, take them to the nearest hospital. Drop them off at the emergency room. Drop them off somewhere safe . Bring them back safe and sound.”

The girls' grandfather found Callie Brunett, 35, dead Thursday morning in the family's rural home, Travis said. The woman and her daughters were last seen Tuesday evening. The search began Wednesday evening.

“You're talking about a 36-hour window where someone could have taken these kids, and their car that's gone, and you could be on the other side of the country now,” Deputy Chief Jimmy Travis said . “We don’t know if the children are in that area.”

State police issued an AMBER Alert for the girls and said they may be in Brunett's Chrysler 200, which was also missing. Detectives said they spoke to the girls' father and said he was not responsible for the kidnapping or murder.

“We don't have any known suspects and we can release a name or anything at this point,” Travis said outside the house.

Helicopters hovered near the house on the east side of Tangipahoa Parish, north of Hammond.

Travis said Brunett's father found her body, but the children — Jalie, 6, and Erin, 4 — were missing.

Detectives said they were looking for an unknown white male. He is believed to be armed and dangerous and should not face the public. Brunett's car has Louisiana license plate 859GML.

Travis said a crime scene investigation team was working inside the home, but the bulk of the investigation was focused on locating the girls.

“We have to find these children,” he said.