5 family members found dead in Central Illinois

BEASON -- Residents of a tiny central Illinois farming community are waiting anxiously as authorities search for suspects in the slayings of five members of a local family.

Logan County authorities say they're following up leads but they haven't made any arrests in what the sheriff calls a "brutal homicide."

The bodies of Ruth and Raymond Gee and their three children were discovered Monday afternoon in their house in Beason by sheriff's deputies who had responded to a 911 call.

They also found one survivor, a 3-year-old girl. Sheriff Steven Nichols didn't have any details about the girl Tuesday but says she was taken to a Peoria hospital.

After Nichols advised area residents to lock their doors at night, one man who lives near the Gee family says he now has a loaded gun in the event anyone tries to get into his home.