2 Bodies Found At Campground After Dad Allegedly Abducts Son, Halting The Boy's Amber Alert

A frantic search for a father and son in California has taken a tragic turn, leading to the grim discovery of two bodies found near a campground.

Steven Weir, 32, was accused of abducting his 2-year-old son, John Weir on Saturday. An Amber Alert was quickly issued for John, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office announced, with the California Highway patrol calling the father "armed and dangerous."

Just one day later, a vehicle associated with the Amber Alert, a 2005 Hyundai Elantra, was located in a remote area near Tuolumne County’s Sand Flat Campground, the sheriff’s office stated.

"The bodies of two deceased people were located near the car and the identification of the people found is not known at this time,” they wrote. It’s unclear how the two people died.

The gruesome discovery led to the deactivation of the Amber Alert.  

While investigators have not yet confirmed the bodies’ identities, family members told local outlet KFSN that they are indeed the missing father and son.

Steven and John Weir Photo: Merced County Sheriff's Office

Weir was supposed to meet with the child’s mother at a Fresno McDonald’s on Saturday for a scheduled child custody exchange, but he never showed up for that meeting. Both parents were embroiled in a heated custody battle over the toddler, each fighting for sole custody, according to the Merced Sun-Star, an outlet from Merced, California.

Court documents obtained by the Sun-Star allege that in June, Weir refused to hand the child over to his grandmother. In another instance, the boy’s mother, Sarah Weir, said she found a “large knot” on the toddler’s head after he spent time with his dad. 

Steven Weir once responded to allegations that he missed a medical appointment for the boy with, “I rescued my son from her. I have gone very far out of my way to get John’s medical needs taken care of,” according to those court documents.