HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. -- Officers are calling the discovery of three bodies a horrific ending to a missing persons case involving a mother and two sons from Highlands Ranch. 
 
 Police confirmed Wednesday morning the identities of the three bodies they located in a minivan in Lone Tree just after 7:30 a.m. as Jennifer Laber and her 5- and 3-year-old sons, Adam and Ethan Laber. 
 
 The father of Adam and Ethan called police for help on Tuesday when Mrs. Laber didn't return with the two boys from school. Officers say he took the right course of action in calling for help. 
 
 Douglas County Sheriff's Office officials said, "There were no red flags, there were no indications that an Amber Alert was needed." 
 
 Police say there is not a threat to the community, and they don't believe there are any suspects in the case. 
 
 Investigation is expected to continue for some time where police located the minivan on the side of the former Sports Authority store on County Line Road in Lone Tree. Authorities also set up an investigation at the Highlands Ranch home of the family. 
 
 Police asked for privacy for the family, and space for the investigation as it moves forward. 
 
 Denver7 chief investigator Tony Kovaleski confirmed that authorities are investigating the case as a murder-suicide. 
 
 #Breaking -Two ranking sources confirm mom and two kids found dead in Douglas County--Investigating possible murder suicide @DenverChannel — Tony Kovaleski (@TonyKovaleski) November 30, 2016 
 
 In 2015, suicide was the seventh-leading cause of death in Colorado. Colorado has two 24/7 hotlines to help people in crisis. The suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and a crisis and support line at 1-844-493-TALK (8255). 
 
 --------- Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines. 
 
 Or, keep up-to-date on the latest news and weather with the Denver7 apps for iPhone/iPads, Android and Kindle. 

 Please enable Javascript to watch this video 
 
 LONE TREE, Colo. -- A Highlands Ranch mother and her two sons who were reported missing were found dead on Wednesday morning, the Lone Tree Police Department said. 
 
 Jennifer Laber, 36, was reported missing at 8 p.m. Tuesday after not returning home with her sons, 3-year-old Adam Laber and 5-year-old Ethan Laber, to the area of North Hampton Court and Hibiscus Drive in Highlands Ranch. 
 
 A 2011 silver Chrysler Town and Country minivan matching the one being driven by Laber was found next to a secluded loading dock of a closed Sports Authority store at 7848 E. County Line Road. 
 
 "We certainly did not see this horrific ending that this case has come to today," Douglas County sheriff's chief deputy Steve Johnson said. “We do not have a lot of answers.” 
 
 Police received a call about 7:45 a.m. from a passerby that the minivan was found. Johnson did not say how the three died. It's not clear how long the minivan was outside the abandoned store. 
 
 The minivan was parked several feet from County Line Road and was shielded by a wall. 
 
 Law enforcement notified the family, including Jennifer Laber's husband, Ryan Laber. Johnson said Ryan Laber, who reported the three missing Tuesday night, is cooperating with authorities. 
 
 Police said there is no indication there is any public danger and there are no suspects. 
 
 The Douglas County Sheriff's Office released information about Laber and the children late Tuesday night after they were reported missing. Johnson said an Amber Alert was not issued because it didn't appear to be needed. 
 
 "There were no red flags," he said. 
 
 Please enable Javascript to watch this video 
 
 Laber was last seen picking up her sons from Bear Canyon Elementary School in Highlands Ranch about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Johnson said the children were pulled out of a school about an hour early but it's not known why. 
 
 The three were seen leaving through the main door and nothing appeared unusual. 
 
 "No red flags whatsoever," Johnson said. 
 
 Johnson said the investigation is active and ongoing. 
 
 "We need a little bit of time and space to let this husband and father to process what has taken place overnight and to allow us and the Lone Tree Police Department to piece this together and give this father the answers he so desperately is going to need as he faces this real hollow time in his life," Johnson said.
– "We certainly did not see this horrific ending that this case has come to," says a deputy after a mother and her two sons were found dead in Colorado on Wednesday, some 12 hours after they were reported missing. Authorities say Jennifer Laber took her two children out of school in Highlands Ranch around 2pm Tuesday and drove off in her minivan, reports the Denver Post. After Laber's husband reported the three missing around 8pm, authorities circulated photos of the family and a description of Laber's vehicle, which a passerby spotted parked at a vacant store in Lone Tree around 8am Wednesday. Inside, Laber, 36; Ethan, 5; and Adam, 3, were dead. Autopsies are scheduled for Thursday morning, but authorities say they aren't looking for suspects—Laber's husband is cooperating with police, and is not considered a suspect—and there is no threat to the community, per the Denver Channel. According to a neighbor, Laber suffered from depression, but "none of us saw this coming, not even [her husband]." "We do not have a lot of answers," says a rep for the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, noting no Amber Alert was issued before the bodies were found because "there were no red flags." He adds authorities are now trying to "piece this together and give this father the answers he so desperately is going to need as he faces this real hollow time in his life," per KDVR.