Police: abducted children met violent end

The three children that were taken by their father from their mother's home in Columbus two weeks ago, died from gunshot wounds soon after the abduction, Columbus police said Thursday.

The bodies of the children, and that of their father Eddie Harrington were found in an industrial park near Fort Benning, east of the city.

Harrington had left a note at the house for the children's mother, Agena Battle, threatening to kill the three. He sent a similar note to his father.

They had been missing since March 5, and had been originally thought to have fled the state towards Harrington's father's home in Indiana.

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Bodies of missing children, father found

Aliyah, Agena and Cedrick (Columbus Police)

The local FBI office says a citizen notified authorities at midday when they came upon the bodies, and the vehicle they had been traveling in.

Law enforcement officials have notified the children's mother, Agena Battle.

The four were found in an industrial park in a rural, wooded area on the eastern part of the city.

The FBI would not confirm how the four died. Muscogee County coroner Bill Thrower declined to say if it was a murder-suicide, according to the Associated Press.

Battle reported 23-month-old twins Aliyah and Agena, their brother, three-year-old Cedrick, and their father, Eddie Harrington, 28, as missing on Wednesday morning, March 5th.

Eddie Harrington (Columbus Police)

FBI Special Agent Steve Emmett in Atlanta describes Harrington's last communication with Battle:

“He left behind a letter, to be found by his girlfriend, where he threatened to kill those children. A second letter was mailed to his father in Indianapolis.”

A Levi's-Amber Alert was announced after the four were reported missing, and searches began throughout Georgia, and the southeast.

The bodies were sent to the GBI crime lab for autopsy.

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Missing kids' mom makes plea for their return

Agana and Aliyah Battle, Cedric Harrington. (Columbus Police Department)

Agena Battle, the mother of a three-year-old son and twin toddler daughters who were taken by their father five days ago from their Columbus home, is pleading for their safe return.

Battle told local tv station WTVM, that she cannot function without them:

"Please air this stating that they are still missing. I have not eaten or slept well since they've been gone. I need them home. I am crying for your help. I have tried to do my daily routine but I cannot function well with out them."

Police say they have received scattered reports of sightings of their father Eddie Harrington and the trio in Tennessee.

Eddie Harrington. (Columbus Police Department)

An Amber Alert for the children was announced in Georgia and surrounding states when the three were first taken from Battle's home last Wednesday morning.

The four were last seen traveling in a green, 2002 Chevy Impala, similar to the one above.

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