A homeless mother and son hanged themselves behind a Dothan store Wednesday, the pair holding hands when their lifeless bodies were found.

The mother was 80 and the son 55, according to Houston County Coroner Robert Byrd.

Their identities are not being released, but Byrd said his office had been able to locate a woman in Texas who is the daughter and sister of the two deceased.

He learned that about five years ago, the son had convinced the mother to leave with him and the two traveled to Key West, Fla., where they had been the last few years.

They had only been in Dothan about four or five weeks, Byrd said.

Byrd has been the Houston County Coroner since 1986 and is the longest-serving elected official in county history, but this incident is unlike anything he’s experienced before.

“I have not even heard of anything like this,” he told AL.com. “You would think they would talk to each other and say, before we do this, let’s see if we can get some help.

Byrd said the two were found hanging from a handrail of a raised walkway behind the retail store, located along the west side of Ross Clark Circle. He said there was no way to determine whether the son had helped the mother, or vice versa, but noted the knots used were identical.

“I have five kids and I just can’t imagine seeing my mother die or my son die,” Byrd said “That’s why this is so horrific.”

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If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or experiencing a crisis, please dial 988 or text HOME to 741741 to speak or text with someone at the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. For more information, visit 988lifeline.org and CrisisTextLine.org.