The story of a missing Florida family took a grim turn Monday when police turned up at their doorstep and found four bodies inside their home, authorities confirmed to The Daily Beast.
Relatives first reported the Todt family missing last Wednesday, asking for information on the whereabouts of Anthony, Megan, and their three young children in a Facebook group that quickly swelled to nearly 2,500 members.
The family had recently moved from Colchester, Connecticut, to Celebration, Florida—a gated community on the outskirts of Disney World, designed and built by the Walt Disney Company.
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The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the investigation. That person “has yet not been arrested or charged with a crime and therefore the person’s identity is not being released at this time,” authorities said Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office did not identify the four individuals found inside the house, saying that autopsy results are still pending.
Relatives said they last heard from the Todt family on Jan. 6. Neighbors reported last seeing them in mid-December.
“Worried sick!!!” one family friend wrote in the Facebook group. “I keep sending them messages on messenger and they are being sent but not delivered. I’m guessing their phones are off. Praying for their safe return.”
But with news of the death investigation Monday, the posts turned less hopeful. “Please respect our family,” one relative wrote. “We don’t know anymore.”
Connecticut State Police told The Daily Beast that they are aware of the deaths of “several individuals who are believed to have Connecticut ties,” but have not received any requests to assist in the investigation.
Police responded to an address registered to the Todts at 11:30 Monday morning, authorities said. Neighbors had reportedly called the police after not seeing the children in several days. One neighbor told The Daily Beast that police had also cordoned off an area of the local park frequented by the mother and kids. Neighbors reported seeing the father of the family that lived in the home being ordered out by armed deputies and taken away in handcuffs.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office on Monday did not confirm that the investigation was related to the Todt family.
“This is an isolated incident, and all parties involved with this death investigation are accounted for,” Sheriff Russ Gibson said in a brief press conference, adding that they were in “the very beginning stages of the investigation.”
Court records show an eviction order was entered against the family late last month, but no response had been filed as of Monday. Both Anthony and Megan appear to have worked at a family-owned physical therapy office in Connecticut. State records show Anthony’s license expired in September and had not been renewed; Megan’s was set to expire at the end of this month.
The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General also confirmed to The Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday the agency is currently investigating Anthony Todt.
“We have an open False Claims Act investigation into Anthony Todt,” a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said in a statement but declined to provide further details.
Family members said on Facebook that they were in touch with authorities in both Connecticut and Florida but declined to comment further when reached by The Daily Beast.
