Father, Sons Found Tied, Drowned

Three bodies lashed together with nylon rope that washed ashore over the weekend have been identified as a father and two sons, and police are considering the deaths as homicides.

The bodies of 45-year-old Kevin L. Amde, 3-year-old son Tesla E. Amde and 6-year-old Davinci Amde were found by a resident Saturday on Lake Michigan's Pleasant Prairie beach, Police Chief Brian J. Wagner said.

"We consider these deaths to be very suspicious and this case is being handled by law enforcement as a homicide," Wagner said Sunday.

The three, from Chicago, were last seen May 6, when the father and younger son picked up the older boy from his school, Wagner said. Veronica Amde, Kevin Amde's wife and the children's mother, reported them missing to Chicago police on May 11.

The Kenosha County Medical Examiner's Office said the amount of time the three were believed to be in the water was consistent with how long they had been missing — about six weeks.

No official cause of death was released. Wagner said there was no evidence of violent trauma on any of the bodies.

Wagner said they were tied together with nylon rope, either through belt loops, a belt or around one child's waist. Also tied to the bodies were two nylon book bags, each containing personal belongings and two plastic bags filled with sand.

This added 48 pounds of weight, he said.

Kevin Amde was identified by his driver's license and work identification, Pleasant Prairie police Lt. Paul Ratzburg said. He declined to say where Amde worked or what type of job he had.

Chicago police Sgt. Stephanie Stuart said Amde often took his children on trips without telling his wife. They would visit museums in Chicago, go fishing or come to Wisconsin, where they had extended family in Racine, near the beach where the bodies were found.

Stuart said there was no indication the couple, who had been married five or six years, were having problems, and Wagner said he had no knowledge of Amde having mental health or criminal problems. They had only the two children, Wagner said.

"From every indication that we've gotten so far, he was a very loving father," Stuart said. "He had no enemies."

Wagner would not say whether any suspects had been questioned. He had not received finished autopsy reports from the Kenosha County Medical Examiner's Office.

"We're not prepared to rule anything in or out at this point," he said.

The Associated Press could find no telephone listing for the family.

Wagner said Veronica Amde did not want to comment.

By Melissa Trujillo