Manhunt for father who is believed to have fled with two-year-old son ends after their bodies are found in Virginia

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited A manhunt for John Ligurgo III (pictured), 43, of Long Island, who is believed to have fled with...

© Provided by Associated Newspapers Limited
A manhunt for John Ligurgo III (pictured), 43, of Long Island, who is believed to have fled with his two-year-sold son, Jovani, on Tuesday has ended after both of their bodies were found in Virginia on Wednesday

By Stephanie Haney, Daily Mail

A manhunt for a New York man who is believed to have fled with his two-year-sold son on Tuesday has ended after both of their bodies were found in Virginia on Wednesday.

The bodies of John Ligurgo III, 43, of Long Island and his son, Jovani, were found in the morning hours in Rockbridge County.

It's believed the two were found inside the father's Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to the New York Post.

The cause of death was not immediately known. 

Maria, the mother of Jovani, dropped her son off with Ligurgo at his home in the Coram suburb on Tuesday at 7.00am Eastern.

The father was supposed to return with their child between 3.30pm and 4.00pm, but never showed up.

When he didn't arrive, Maria called 9-1-1, Suffolk County police said.

At 3.35pm on Tuesday, which is around the same time that Maria called the authorities, police were also called to the scene of a fire at Ligurgo's home on Bretton Woods Drive.

Authorities said smoke was billowing out of the windows, originating from a blaze they put out inside the bedroom of the second-floor apartment, Pix 11 reported.

No one was there, but items believed to belong to the toddler were at the home, according to a message Jovani's adult brother, Anthony Busone, sent to the Post.

Whether the blaze was set on purpose remains the subject of an ongoing investigation, police said.

'[T]here has not been a definitive answer on if it was intentional, but my personal opinion is that he did it on purpose,' Busone, 26, said.

There had been an ongoing custody battle between Lugargo and Maria, according to Busone, that had began about one ago.

'I wouldn’t put anything past him at this point,' he wrote, prior to the finding of his little brother's body in Virginia.

Police said that when the father fled with his son, he was armed with a hunting rifle. 

A positive identification is still pending.