A mom and her two children that were reported missing on early Thursday morning have been found safe, but the father is still missing, and police are trying to determine exactly what happened to the family and why.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that at around midnight on Thursday, 15-year-old Riley Rippe reported to police that her mother Catherine Rippe, 37 was involved in some sort of altercation. When police arrived, Catherine, Riley, Randall Foster Sr., 50; and Randall Foster Jr., 9, were all missing from their Memphis home. Authorities noticed blood, signs that someone forced their way in, and the front door wide open.

Several hours later, most of the family was located when they returned home. Foster Sr., the mother’s longtime boyfriend, is still missing. The rest of the family drove back home in a black Chevrolet Silverado truck.

Police initially thought that Foster Sr. abducted his family. Sources indicate that there is a long history of family violence. Catherine Rippe, however, said that they left voluntarily. According to the Commercial Appeal, there was a domestic violence incident shortly before the family left, and there are conflicting versions of what happened.

“She told us that she went to stay with friends after she and the kids left the home,” Memphis police spokeswoman Lt. Karen Rudolph said.

Authorities have reason to believe that Foster Sr. may harm himself. They’re focusing their attention on locating him as soon as possible. There is currently a city watch out on him. He’s described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, with brown hair and brown eyes. He weighs around 170 pounds and was last seen wearing a green shirt, blue jeans, and brown boots.

“We fear he could harm himself and have issued a missing persons report on him,” said Rudolph.

WMC Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee

[Feature Photo: Memphis PD]