SHELTON -- Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide after a 17-month-old child was found dead next to their 52-year-old father Thursday night in Mason County.



Mason County Sheriff's Office deputies received a call from a woman around 6 p.m. Thursday, asking that deputies check on her estranged husband and two small children at their home in the 700 block of E. Road near Lake Limerick.



The 32-year-old caller told police she recently separated from her husband, and was growing concerned about the welfare of her children since she couldn't reach him on the phone. She told deputies her husband grew despondent following their separation.



Deputies responded to the home and smelled a strong odor of gasoline right outside the door, deputies said. When they entered, they found a 4-year-old boy sitting unharmed in the living-room area. The boy was escorted out of the home and reunited with his mother.



Further into the home, deputies found the 52-year-old father, identified as Sean Durcan, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A 17-month-old child was found dead beside Durcan, deputies said. The manner of the child's death was not immediately released.



Deputies are investigating the deaths.



This story will be updated as more information becomes available.