Associated Press
NEWPORT, Ore. – Divers found the bodies of Mary Jane Longo and her youngest daughter in Yaquina Bay Thursday as police intensified their search for the missing father.
The bodies were discovered about 3:30 p.m. outside a Embarcadero Resort in Newport. Police would not say why they searched the bay, nor would they describe the condition of either body.
Christian and Mary Jane’s Longo’s other two children were found dead last week in an ocean inlet in Waldport, 14 miles south of Newport.
The deaths Zachary Michael Longo, 5, and their other daughter, Sadie Ann Longo, 3, have been declared homicides by the state medical examiner’s office.
Results of the children’s autopsies have not been revealed.
“The people here in the community I know want this person caught,” Barnett said Thursday afternoon, without naming a suspect. “And the way that’s going to happen is for us to conduct a prudent and careful investigation.”
Police have not said if they think Christian Longo is responsible for the deaths or is himself a victim.
Longo, 27, faces various theft and fraud charges in Oregon and in Michigan, where the couple had lived before moving to Oregon a few months ago.
Police are searching for a dark green Dodge Durango sports utility vehicle with Michigan license plates.
Investigators said a similar vehicle was reported missing from a Wilsonville car dealership where a maroon Pontiac van reported stolen in Ohio two years ago was found abandoned Dec. 19.
Zachary and Sadie are believed to have died Dec. 19, when the boy’s body was found. His sister’s body was found Saturday about 150 yards away as divers searched for evidence.
Speaking before Thursday’s discovery, Susan Lowery, mother of Mary Jane Longo, described her daughter as a wonderful person and homemaker who loved her husband. Her daughter never hinted of any difficulties in the couple’s marriage or finances, she said.
“Mary Jane never said anything negative about her husband,” said Lowery, who lives in Trinity, Ala.
She added that Christian Longo “has never shown any meanness or anything like that.”
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