Lance Buckley, 35, called 911 saying he wanted to report three murders and a suicide at 8:41 a.m. Thursday, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office said.
A Virginia man, who made headlines last year after disappearing days after the birth of his second child, killed his wife and their two young daughters before taking his own life on Thursday, according to authorities.
Lance Buckley, 35, called 911 at 8:41 a.m. saying he wanted to report three murders and a suicide, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said.
After Buckley identified himself and hung up the phone, emergency responders rushed to his Windsor Forest home.
There they found the bodies of Buckley’s 30-year-old wife, Amy, and their daughters, 5-year-old Claire and 18-month-old Abigail.
Authorities believe Buckley, who was also found dead, killed his family before taking his own life.
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Buckley’s parents own the home where the killings took place. The couple and their children moved in with them last year, neighbors told Fredericksburg.com.
“Everybody’s just really shocked that something like this could happen,” neighbor Bonnie Thomen said.
Amy Buckley had appeared before news cameras last year, pleading for the safe return of her husband when he went missing just 11 days after the birth of their second daughter.
"Lance, I love you so much no matter what I just want you to come home," Amy Buckley said after her husband went missing on May 5, 2015.
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He had last been seen getting a ride to Howard University, where he was completing his PhD in microbiology.
While he was missing, detectives said that Lance Buckley may have had a handgun with him, but that he “is absolutely no danger to anyone,” WTVR reported at the time.
He was found three days later at a West Virginia campground.
Amy Buckley took to social media after he was found, writing: “I have been meaning to write a ‘thank you’ message for the supreme acts of service and kindness rendered on our behalf in the efforts to recover Lance several weeks ago.”
A motive for Thursday’s killings was not immediately clear, and authorities did not say how or when the deaths occurred. Stafford County Detectives are continuing the investigation.
Watch: Mom Planned to Leave Husband on Day of Murder-Suicide That Killed Their 3 Kids
