A 4-year-old Amish boy who was thrown into an Ohio lake to be “given” to God drowned alongside his father, who swam out deep into the water to test his own faith, according to authorities.
The deaths of 4-year-old Vincent Miller and his father, 45-year-old Marcus Miller, both of Millersburg, part of Ohio’s Amish Country, were preceded by a “spiritual delusion,” Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said, according to Fox 8.
The young boy’s mother was “clearly in mental crisis” and told authorities she had “given her son to God” by throwing him in Atwood Lake, which the family was visiting this past weekend.
Divers recovered the 4-year-old’s body on Saturday, and the body of his father on Sunday. Campbell said the father is believed to have swam out far into the lake on his own as a test of faith.
Authorities only discovered the deaths of the boy and his father after the mother of the family drove a golf cart carrying three of her children off a dock into the lake.
The three children, a 15-year-old girl and twin 18-year-old boys, were able to get out of the water safely.
However, authorities responding to the crash soon became “concerned for the safety of a 4-year-old male son and the woman’s husband who could not be located,” the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a statement.
“After helping the woman out of the water, the woman made concerning statements about conversing with God,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the father of the family had been spotted by witnesses at a different boat dock around 1 a.m.
The cause and manner of death for both the boy and his father are pending autopsies, Tuscarawas County Coroner Dr. Jeff Cameron said Monday.
The boy’s mother, a 40-year-old woman, is expected to be charged with aggravated murder on Tuesday.
She is currently in the hospital for mental health concerns, while her three other children are with other relatives.
The family, along with their church, released a statement through the sheriff’s office.
“The church and family want to thank the law enforcement and rescue personnel for all that was done during this tragic weekend.
“The family involved are members of the Old Order Amish Church. As a church of Christian faith, we believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the events of this past weekend do not reflect our teachings or beliefs but are instead a result of a mental illness.
“The ministry and extended family had been walking with them through their challenges, and they had also received professional help in the past.”
