Kidnapping Suspect Adam Mayes Dead

Adam Mayes, the fugitive accused of kidnapping two girls after killing their mother and sister, shot himself last night after police tracked him down in the Mississippi woods. Acting on a tip, officers searched the densely wooded area west of his home and spotted Alexandria Bain, 12, behind a church. They commanded Mayes to show his hands and surrender, but instead he shot himself in the head with a semiautomatic pistol, the AP reports.

Alexandria and sister Kyliyah, 8, were found lying on the ground nearby, and they appeared to have been in the woods for two to three days. They were suffering from exposure, dehydration, and poison ivy but were otherwise OK, and were only hospitalized as a precaution. Authorities don’t know how the trio survived in the woods but are investigating the possibility that they had help. Though there is still no official word on Mayes' motive for killing mom Jo Ann, 31, and oldest daughter Adrienne, 14, Mayes' wife and mother-in-law indicated that he wanted to abduct the two younger girls because he believed they were his. (More Adam Mayes stories.)