French police: Father sought in killings of wife, 4 kids, 2 dogs

French police were searching Friday for a man they suspect of killing his wife and four children and burying them in the garden in the western city of Nantes, along with the family's two pet Labradors.

The father, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes, remains unaccounted for, French authorities said.

French police exhumed five bodies from a freshly dug grave at a house in the northwestern city of Nantes — believed to be a family who went missing almost three weeks ago.

The gruesome discoveries began earlier Thursday when investigators dug up a human leg believed to belong to one of the sons from under a porch overlooking the family's back yard.

By evening, detectives had exhumed four more bodies. Nantes public prosecutor Xavier Ronsin said they are believed to be those of Agnes Dupont de Ligonnes, 49, and her four children: Arthur, 21; Thomas, 18; Anne, 16; and Benoit, 13.

Autopsies confirmed the identities of the victims, Nantes prosecutor Xavier Ronsin said Friday, adding they pointed to a "methodical execution.

"They were killed in their sleep by a firearm, probably by a .22 calibre rifle," he said, adding that each of the victims had received at least two bullet wounds either in the head or the chest.

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Carcasses of the family's two dogs were also found in the pit.

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Police said they recovered the car belonging to Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes in a hotel car park in Roquebrune-sur-Argens in southeastern France, some 10 hours' drive away. French police said bank withdrawals showed he had been in the area.

French media, citing police reports, said there were no signs of a struggle inside the family's house, but said wardrobes had been emptied of their clothes.

Ronsin told reporters Thursday that Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes, a tourism consultant, had written a letter to relatives before going missing saying that he was a secret agent working for the United States on a narcotics case.

Reurers, AFP and The Associated Press contributed to this report.