FREEDOM TOWNSHIP, MI - A Scio Township resident found the bodies of a swan family apparently run over and killed by a vehicle.

For the past few months, Emily Bauerle and her children enjoyed watching a pair of swans and their cygnets on a pond at the southwest corner of Parker Road and Scio Church Road in Freedom Township, just west of Ann Arbor.

Bauerle drove past them four times a day, and would see them grooming, paddling in the water and taking off and landing. With her children, Bauerle occasionally stopped to watch them.

"It has been a treat to watch this swan family grow over time," she said.

As of early August, the cygnets were nearly the size of the adults.

The swans often were close to the road, Bauerle said, and she was worried about their safety. Her concern was well founded.

On Wednesday, Aug. 10, she saw the birds lying dead on the side of Parker Road, apparently run over by a vehicle.

"It appears they had been sleeping in one of their usual spots and someone ran 3 to 4 feet off the road, within mere inches of the swamp, and hit them," Bauerle said. "I don't know for sure if this was intentional or not. I hope not, but my gut tells me otherwise. It saddens me that people can't leave nature alone."

Bauerle took photos of the dead birds, which are graphic.

The Humane Society of Huron Valley said it plans to issue a statement later Wednesday.

The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office now says they believe the swans were deliberately run over and are investigating the incident. Trumpeter swans are considered a threatened species in Michigan.

In 2009, a family of swans living in a pond at the same intersection were found dead and had head wounds, according to Ann Arbor News records.