Deaths of Neb. mom, son mystery to police, others

Charlotte Schilling, 41, of Plattsmouth, Neb., and her son, Owen, had been missing since May 10, when the mother checked the boy out of his elementary school. It wasn't unusual for Schilling to surprise her children with short road trips to parks, zoos and other nearby attractions, relatives said.

But the woman always called home and the excursions never lasted long. Her family grew worried when neither she nor Owen returned home, and Schilling's cellphone went unanswered.

"None of this makes sense," said Polly Best, who lives next door to the Schillings. "It's just tragic. There was never a hint of anything wrong there."

Best stood outside the family's home Tuesday holding a roast she had cooked for relatives gathered inside. Yellow police tape blocked the Schillings' driveway and front steps from reporters trying to talk to family members and neighbors wanting to offer condolences.

Surveillance video from a convenience store in the area where the woman and boy's bodies were found Sunday showed Owen hugging his mom and Schilling kissing her son on the head. KETV in Omaha aired the store video footage.

"I just can't believe it," Best said. "That did not look to me like a woman who would hurt her child."

But that appears to be what investigators believe may have happened.

Police in Council Bluffs, Iowa, said Tuesday they "do not suspect any outside foul play" in the deaths of Schilling and her son. Their bodies were found Sunday evening in Lake Manawa State Park, south of Council Bluffs in western Iowa, about 20 miles north of Plattsmouth.

Investigators stopped short of labeling the case a murder-suicide, saying they must wait for further autopsy results before determining the cause of death.

Council Bluffs Sgt. Dave Dawson said he expected to announce the cause of death by the end of the week. Investigators are leaning toward the belief that the bodies had been in the spot where they were found since May 10, the day that Schilling checked Owen out of Wade Robin Elementary School in Bellevue, Neb., and they went missing.

The day after they disappeared, police found Schilling's vehicle at the same park where the pair would eventually be found dead. Schilling's cellphone and wallet were in her car.