Woman, children found dead in car

JEROME, Idaho – Authorities have found the bodies of a missing Jerome County woman and her two young children in a car that was pulled out of a southern Idaho canal.

Alisha Hepworth and her children, 7-year-old John and 3-year-old Mahaila, had been missing since Wednesday, when a friend told authorities they never showed up for a planned visit to the Gooding County Fair.

Jerome County Sheriff Doug McFall said Hepworth’s car was found Monday morning after a resident noticed a road sign was missing and then spotted a vehicle antenna sticking out of the canal. McFall said Hepworth’s 1996 Chevrolet Lumina apparently hit the road sign before crashing into a guard rail and entering the canal.