A 16-year-old schoolgirl feared dead in a house fire was found alive and charged with murdering her brother and a person believed to be her mum.
Two bodies were found "burned beyond recognition" in the gutted home - one thought to be teenager Candace Walton and the other later confirmed to be her 21-year-old brother, Gerald Walton, who had special needs.
Their mum Tasha Vandiver, 46, was missing and her car was unaccounted for, so police in the US state of Georgia issued a nationwide alert asking other forces to be on the lookout.
The case took a dramatic twist when the car was pulled over about 12 hours later with Candace behind the wheel as she allegedly tried to drive 2,500 miles across the country to see her boyfriend.
The stolen car was stopped in Paducah, Kentucky, some 450 miles away from the family home near Forsyth, Georgia.
The high school student allegedly told officers that she was driving to the Pacific coast state of Oregon.
“We believe she’s got a boyfriend in Oregon," Monroe Sheriff Brad Freeman told the Macon Telegraph.
He said officers searched the car and “located some incriminating things".
Candace is now accused of killing her brother and an unknown female - believed to be her mother, who is still missing - and torching the house at about 3.30am on Thursday.
The teen has been charged with two counts of murder and a single count of arson.
Police said the two bodies discovered in the rubble of the home were "burned beyond recognition".
They were initially thought to be the two children until Candace was pulled over while driving her mother's Chevrolet Malibu, the force added.
She was interviewed by detectives, but the Monroe County Sheriff's Office declined to reveal what she told them.
The teen remains in custody.
