Toddler and grandparents found dead in Ohio home after mystery caller dialed 911 and softly said 'help'

A toddler and his two grandparents found shot dead inside an Ohio home have been identified after a chilling 911 call in which dispatchers heard someone apparently whispering 'help' before authorities found the trio.

The victims were named on Thursday as Melissa E. Campbell, 51, Gale F. Sanders, 67, and 22-month-old Kozzar J. Lotut, whose bodies were discovered at a property in the small village of Gnadenhutten, south of Canton, on Wednesday.

All three had suffered gunshot wounds, according to the Tuscarawas County Coroner's Office. 

Investigators are now attempting to piece together what happened inside the home.

The disturbing discovery followed a mysterious emergency call shortly after 4am that abruptly disconnected before dispatchers could establish where it was coming from.

When emergency operators attempted to call the number back, they heard what appeared to be a faint plea for assistance.

On one of those calls, a dispatcher heard a 'voice softly saying the word "help,"' according to the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office.

The unsettling exchange sparked an urgent effort to locate the caller, eventually leading deputies to the home.

Authorities believe the deaths may have been the result of a murder-suicide, although investigators have not publicly established who fired the fatal shots or explained what might have prompted the violence.

A firearm was recovered beside one of the bodies, according to the sheriff, who told Cleveland 19 that evidence gathered so far pointed toward a murder-suicide.

However, the precise circumstances remain under investigation, and officials have not identified a suspected shooter.

The deaths have stunned the small rural community of Gnadenhutten.

According to the sheriff's office, the first indication that something was seriously wrong came shortly after 4am on Wednesday morning.

Emergency dispatchers received a call to 911, but the connection was cut almost immediately.

The caller did not provide an address, leaving operators with no obvious way of determining where help was needed.

Investigators eventually contacted the owner of the number, who explained that he had lent the device to someone else.

That information led deputies to examine several possible addresses as they worked to narrow down the phone's location with their search ultimately bringing them to the property in Gnadenhutten.

A family member was already at the scene when law enforcement arrived and allowed deputies to enter the home, according to the sheriff's office. 

Once inside, officers discovered the bodies of two adults and a young child.

The coroner's office confirmed their identities as little Kozzar, who was just 22 months while Campbell and Sanders were his grandparents, who had played an important role in looking after the little boy. 

The pair frequently helped care for Kozzar because he had medical disabilities.

It also remains unclear exactly when the shootings occurred in relation to the initial 911 call, or whether the faint plea for assistance came from one of the three people subsequently discovered dead.

The sheriff has indicated that investigators are examining the possibility that one of the deaths was self-inflicted and the others were homicides.