NAKHON RATCHASIMA: A woman was found hanged in a shelter for workers and her 12-year-old son drowned in a nearby pond at a sand depot in Chum Phuang district on Tuesday, police said.
Workers arriving on Tuesday morning discovered the woman hanged with electric wires from the beam of the shelter at Moo 8 village in tambon Chum Phuang, said Pol Col Wichai Narong, the Chum Phuang police chief.
After police and rescue workers arrived, the body of the woman was taken to Chum Phuang Hospital for an autopsy.
The dead woman's parents -- Prasan Thongkasem, 61, and Wanida Sae Lo, 52 -- went to the hospital to inspect the body, and confirmed it was their daughter, Tukta Thongkasem, 33.
They said Tukta's son, Surasak Thongkasem, 11, who normally stayed by his mother's side, had gone missing.
This prompted police and rescue workers to return to the sand depot for a search. They found a pair of yellow sandals near a pond full of water about 2 metres deep. The rescuers scoured the pond and found the boy's body, which was sent to the hospital for an autopsy.
Mr Prasan, the dead woman's father, said Tukta had married a Swedish man. Their son Surasak was a 6th grader at a local school.
The Swedish man went back to Sweden three or four years ago and never returned. He occasionally contacted Tukta but never sent her any money, the father said.
After the departure of her husband, Tukta had suffered from deep depression.
Mr Prasan said he and Mrs Wanida went to work at nearby village about a month ago, leaving Tukta and her son at their home in Moo 8 village. They returned home on Tuesday to discover they were both dead.
It was initially believed Tukta had committed suicide, but Surasak's drowning was still a mystery.
Police were investigating to establish the causes of deaths of the mother and son.