Gallman , Mississippi ( CNN ) -- Heartbroken and baffled . That 's how friends and relatives of a Mississippi family described themselves the day authorities said they 'd found the bodies of Atira Hill , Laterry Smith and Jaidon Hill , 7 . The mother , stepfather and boy vanished last week . `` We went to bed last night still praying they would be brought home safely , but unfortunately , that did not happen , '' said Vinson Jenkins , Hill 's cousin . `` To my knowledge , we do n't know why anybody would want to do any harm to them . '' Authorities do n't know why yet either . When the family first disappeared , they hoped they had a simple missing persons case on their hands . The family was last seen Friday in a car . An investigation kicked into gear when that vehicle was later found flipped and on fire . Bloody clothes belonging to the victims were discovered next in a gas station Dumpster . And then the bodies were located . They were found overnight in a wooded area , Copiah County Sheriff Harold Jones said Tuesday . They had been shot to death . `` I do n't know how anyone could be so callous and cruel to do this -- take a life , especially the life of a child who hurt no one and did n't deserve what he got , '' said Angela Ashford , another family member . Authorities have arrested 42-year-old Timothy Burns on suspicion of arson , Jones said . He is also being held for `` investigative purposes '' in connection to the killings , according to the sheriff . It was not immediately clear whether Burns had retained representation . He was being held at the jail in Copiah County , southwest of Jackson . The investigation is ongoing , but at this point , authorities believe Burns was driving the car , got into an accident and then set the vehicle on fire , Jones said . It 's not known whether the victims were in the car at the time of the accident . Nor is it known whether Burns and the victims had ties , though the sheriff believes they did not . He said Burns led authorities to the bodies . `` We 're investigating . This just happened , '' Jones said . According to CNN affiliate WAPT , Jaidon was a student at Stonebridge Elementary School in Brandon , Mississippi . A prayer vigil was held Tuesday night at the school , where a flag was lowered to half staff . Hill worked as a nurse 's assistant at the University of Mississippi Medical Center , while Smith was a Sheetrock installer , WAPT said . According to Hill 's mother , Judith Hughes , Hill called early Saturday to say she and Jaidon were on their way to meet Smith 's relatives to `` take care of some business . '' Hughes said she asked her daughter if everything was OK. She said it was . The phone signal was weak , and the call dropped . Hughes tried calling back , but the call went straight to voice mail . Hughes said Jaidon lived with her and that he was meant to spend the weekend with his mother . After the family 's car was found flipped , Hughes said she went to the home where Hill and Smith are believed to have lived . It was empty , she said . Hughes ' house was full Tuesday as family members gathered to mourn and to try to makes sense of what happened . `` Atira had such a big heart , why her ? '' asked Antionetta Taylor , one of Hill 's best friends . `` She never bothered anybody . She was so young -- and Jaidon was innocent . '' In July : Mysterious Mississippi murder stokes suspicions bred by an ugly past . Gary Tuchman reported from Gallman , Mississippi . Dana Ford reported and wrote from Atlanta . CNN 's Meridith Edwards also contributed to this report .
The bodies of CNN , Timothy Burns and Timothy Burns , Friday , were found night . The family was last seen Friday in a car . That vehicle was later found flipped and on fire . Authorities have arrested Timothy Burns , 42 , on suspicion of arson , a sheriff says .