Urgent manhunt after murders of four family members and baby found in abandoned car

Police have urged the public not to approach a man wanted in the murders of a baby's parents, grandmother and uncle.

Austin Robert Drummond, 28, had a relationship with the family and is believed to have killed them in a targeted attack, police said. There were fears for the infant but the tot - thought to be a girl - was found safe in a car seat in an abandoned vehicle today, officers told reporters.

Authorities, who have offered a $15,000 (£11,000) reward for information leading to Drummond's arrest, yesterday discovered in which they believe the suspect was living - some 70 miles from where the bodies of 38-year-old Cortney Rose, Rose's children; 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams, and Adrianna Williams' boyfriend, 21-year-old James "Michael" Wilson were found.

The baby, understood to be Adrianna and James' child, is safe and being cared for, said Stephen Sutton, a spokesperson for the Lake and Dyer county sheriffs in Jackson, Tennessee, said. However, Drummond is considered armed and dangerous, Mr Sutton continued.

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Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director David Rausch said: "While this was an extremely tragic and violent event, that there was a sign of compassion, if you will, that we know happened. That tells us that there’s a possibility that Austin may have a sense that there is hope for him to be able to come in and have a conversation about what happened."

The car officers found was unoccupied but matches the description of the vehicle Drummond, who spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store as a 16-year-old boy and threatening to go after jurors, had been driving.

Warrants have been obtained for Drummond to charge him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offences. Authorities have not yet answered questions about the manner in which the four were killed.

Immediately after discovering the infant, investigators started looking for the baby’s family and soon learned the four relatives had not been seen since the night before. Then a relative called 911 after finding two vehicles in a remote area. The four bodies were found in nearby woods.

According to court records, Drummond was tried as an adult for the July 2013 robbery in Jackson, Tennessee. During the incident, he pointed a pistol at the gas station store worker and ordered the cash register to be opened, taking the $44 (£33) inside. After the jury convicted him of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, he made threats to go after jurors, Drummond said during the parole hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to 13 counts of retaliation for past action.