MOUTH OF WILSON, Va. – A hunter found three bodies inside a truck in Grayson County on Monday morning, according to Sheriff Richard Vaughan.
Vaughan told 10 News that the bodies were found near Oak Hill Academy in a very remote area in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
The Grayson County Sheriff's Office believes the bodies are connected to a June arson, murder case in Alexander County, North Carolina that killed two people.
The Grayson County Sheriff's Office reached out to the Alexander County Sheriff's Office because the truck's VIN matched the VIN on a missing truck stolen from the June investigation.
"Upon arrival, our forensic investigator and crime scene technicians began processing the scene, and they were able to come up with a vehicle identification number. Once we ran that through NCIC, it came back (listed as belonging to a) missing and endangered person from Alexander County, North Carolina.
Investigators found that the truck had been burned and three sets of human skeletal remains were located in the bed of the truck, according to the Alexander County Sheriff's Office.
The initial processing of the vehicle and the human skeletal remains will be conducted by authorities in Virginia.
Official identification of the bodies will have to come from the medical examiner's office, but right now the evidence points to the three bodies found Monday being the three missing people from the deadly arson case in Alexander County.
"That's what it's all about in this line of work: putting the victims first and family first and bringing closure to a horrific case such as this," Vaughn said. "Being able to bring closure and put this case to rest would be huge for us and North Carolina."
Two siblings, ages 11 and 12, were found dead in the burned-out remains of their mobile home in Alexander County, North Carolina on June 15.
Their mother has been missing since the fire and is presumed dead, according to WCNC.
Three other people were reported missing from the home.
A 30-year-old man and his 16-year-old girlfriend have been charged with the murders and arson.
The man is also charged with rape and violating a protective order.