( CNN ) -- Authorities in Mississippi are holding a father of five in the deaths of his children , ages 1 to 8 , the state 's Department of Public Safety said Tuesday evening . `` The seriousness of this violent crime is unconscionable , '' said Albert Santa Cruz , Mississippi 's public safety commissioner . Timothy Jones Jr. , 32 , is being held in Smith County on child endangerment charges and is awaiting extradition to South Carolina for prosecution . The children , reported missing from South Carolina last week , were found dead in Alabama on Tuesday , authorities said . Their remains were discovered off a dirt road in Wilcox County , said Sgt . Steve Jarrett of the Alabama Department of Public Safety . Jones led law enforcement to the crime scene , Jarrett said . No other details were immediately available about how the children died . A multi-state search for the children and their father involved the FBI and state law enforcement agencies . It was launched after the mother told Lexington County , South Carolina , sheriff 's investigators on September 3 that she has been unable to contact her former husband . `` Neighbors told deputies that the children 's father said he was moving with his children from his home near Lexington to another state , '' said Lexington Sheriff Lewis McCarty . Jones and the children 's mother were divorced . They shared custody of the children , according to the Lexington County , South Carolina , Sheriff 's office . On Saturday , Jones was taken into custody in Mississippi on suspicion of driving under the influence . When his SUV was towed , authorities found evidence of a crime , the state 's Department of Public Safety said . A check of the National Criminal Information Center found he was wanted in South Carolina . Missing nursing student 's remains found in Tennessee . CNN 's Suzanne Presto contributed to this report .
Taylor 's father is currently in custody , pending trial . The remains were discovered in Wilcox County , Alabama . Few details are immediately available about how the children died . Their parents were separated and they shared custody of the children .