CASS COUNTY, Texas -- Texas Rangers are investigating the deaths of three sisters whose bodies were recovered early Saturday from a private pond.
About 11 p.m. Friday, officials were notified Temari Oliver, 5, Amiyah Hughes, 8, and Zi'Ariel Oliver, 9, had gone missing from a house on state Highway 77 outside of Atlanta, Sheriff Larry Rowe said Saturday. The caller is believed to be a friend of the girls' mother who was with the sisters and their siblings while the mother was at work.
As deputies, Texas Parks and Wildlife and Cass County Emergency Services District No. 2 searched for the girls, they found evidence that focused attention on a body of water about 200 yards from the girls' house on neighboring property.
"A pair of shoes was found at the edge of the pond, leading investigators to search the water," Rowe said.
The Bowie County dive team was called in, and the children's bodies were recovered about 3 a.m. Saturday.
"We have no idea what the girls were doing there," the sheriff said.
Rowe said the Rangers were called for assistance because the investigation "needs priority," citing a number of other cases the Sheriff's Office is working.
So far, investigators have not drawn any conclusions about the siblings' deaths.
"Nobody has been accused of anything," Rowe said.