SAN ANTONIO, TX – A suspected murder-suicide involving a 32-year-old mother and her 3-year-old son is under investigation by Texas authorities. Two bodies discovered in a ditch have been preliminarily identified as the missing mother, Savannah Samantha Kriger and her son, Kaiden, according to Sheriff Javier Salazar.
The pair was reported missing on Monday when Kriger did not return after leaving work to pick her son up from daycare for a doctor’s appointment, reports from the sheriff’s office said. Even though her white 2023 Lincoln Aviator was found abandoned at Tom Slick Park, the authorities were unable to locate Kriger and Kaiden.
A welfare check at the Kriger residence yielded no results but revealed alarming insights warranting concern for the mother and child, Salazar said.
Despite extensive overnight search, the efforts to locate Kriger and Kaiden only led to the discovery of the vacant Lincoln Aviator. The search resumed the following day at dawn, after which authorities found two bodies in a ditch near a drainage easement on the far side of the park.
Ongoing investigations suggest Savannah and Kaiden could be the victims, with potential gunfire involved based on initial evidence collected at the scene, where a gun was also found.
Sheriff Salazar indicated Kriger as the sole suspect, revealing a contentious ongoing custody battle between her and Kaiden’s father that had a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
Relatives became anxious after futile attempts to contact Kriger, whose phone gave an uninterrupted voice-mail response and had location services turned off.
Before Kriger left work, colleagues didn’t suspect any distress per Salazar’s briefing. Upon exiting their SUV, it seems Kriger and Kaiden walked a substantial distance from the parking spot to the drainage easement- the supposed site of the suspected shooting.