FREDERICK, Maryland — A man and his four young children were found dead yesterday in a townhouse, authorities said.The man, 28, was found hanging by a nylon rope from a second-floor bannister, said Lt. Thomas Chase. The children — girls ages nine, four and one, and a three-year-old boy — were found in bed under the covers, Chase said.

Police were looking for the mother, who neighbours said also lived at the home.

Chase said the mother, who was not immediately named, had not shown up for work at a local restaurant for a week and a half. He said, “We’re giving (her safety) as much consideration as anything else as we continue to look for her.”

The bodies were discovered after a Hillcrest Elementary School community liaison concerned about some of the children called police, authorities said.

Officers entered through a window yesterday afternoon and found the bodies in different rooms of the three-bedroom home.

The family had emigrated from El Salvador to the United States, police said.

Autopsies on the father and the children are to be performed today in Baltimore.

Police had been called there three or four times in the past six months, neighbour Nathaniel Harris said.

“Everyone in the neighbourhood is shocked,” Harris said. “This is a nice area.”

Frederick is about 50 miles northwest of Washington.