CANDLER, N.C. -- The triple murder suspect accused of abducting his two children committed suicide early Friday, according to WRAL-TV.

The station reported on it's Web site the two children are safe.

Richard Doughlas Heatwole, 45, died from a self-inflicted gunshot during a standoff with police at a relative's house in Alexander County, N.C.

Heatwole was suspected of killing his ex-wife and two others and then abducting his children – Haley and Hayes Heatwole, 10 and 6.

The children disappeared from a house in Candler, N.C. where two people were found dead Thursday. Another person was found dead at an adjacent residence on the property.

One of the murder victims was Angela Neilson Heatwole, 49, the missing children's mother.

An Amber Alert was issued late Thursday for the children.

Hayes Heatwole, the six-year-old, is a white male, about 3-foot-8 and 45 pounds. He has long, blond shaggy hair and blue eyes.

Ten-year-old Haley Heatwole is a white female, about 4-foot-8 and 62 pounds. She has brown shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes. She has a scar on her forehead that extends to the bridge of her nose.

Richard Heatwole was on probation for drug possession in Pinellas County, Fla., records show.