A family friend says the bodies of two Ohio women and an 11-year-old boy were not intact when they were found in the base of a hollow tree.

Forty-five-year-old Joe Pejsa (peh-sha) tells The Associated Press that investigators told him the bodies were found inside the tree along with the remains of the family dog.

Authorities found the bodies of Tina Herrmann, her son Kody Maynard and her friend Stephanie Sprang in a wildlife preserve in central Ohio on Thursday, a week after they disappeared from Herrmann's blood-spattered home.

Investigators say an unemployed tree-trimmer gave them information that led to the discovery four days after investigators found Herrmann's 13-year-old daughter bound and gagged in his basement in Mount Vernon.

He has been charged with kidnapping and is being held in the county jail.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (AP) _ A family friend says the bodies of two Ohio women and an 11-year-old boy were not intact when they were found in the base of a hollow tree.

Forty-five-year-old Joe Pejsa (peh-sha) tells The Associated Press that investigators told him the bodies were found inside the tree along with the remains of the family dog.

Authorities found the bodies of Tina Herrmann, her son Kody Maynard and her friend Stephanie Sprang in a wildlife preserve in central Ohio on Thursday.

The hollowed tree has been cut down.