Missing boys dead in mom's car trunk

Two young brothers accidentally locked themselves in the trunk of their mother's car and were found dead about four hours after they were reported missing, state police said Sunday.

"Preliminarily, it appears that this is just a tragedy," said state Trooper Don Trosper. "These boys were out playing and they accidentally got themselves locked in the trunk."

Their grandparents called police Saturday to say they had not seen their grandsons for about three hours, said Laurel County Coroner Doug Bowling.

The bodies were found in the trunk of a 1996 car at their mother's home, about two miles south of London in eastern Kentucky, Bowling said. Federal law requires cars made beginning in 2002 to have release latches inside the trunk.

Bowling identified the boys as 8-year-old Chase Baker and 11-year-old Coty Baker. He said a state medical examiner was performing autopsies.