BATTLE CREEK, MI - Police say the shooting deaths of two people early Sunday morning - one a Calhoun County Sheriff's deputy -- was an incident of murder-suicide.

Sheriff Matt Saxton identified 18-year law enforcement division veteran Mark Elferdink, 43, and his wife, Hope Elferdink, 38, as those deceased.

The Elferdinks' bodies were found in the backyard of their McAllister Road residence in Emmett Township after a concerned family member called for emergency help at about 8 a.m. Sunday.

Deputies say the shootings may have happened several hours earlier, with neighbors reporting that they heard firecracker-like sounds at about 1 a.m.

"The incident has been confirmed to be a murder-suicide and it appears that Elferdink is responsible for the death of his wife and himself," Saxton said at a Monday afternoon press conference.

Wood TV-8 reported that neighbors said the couple's two children were in the house when the shooting occurred, along with some other children who were there for a sleepover. Deputies did not say whether any of the youngsters witnessed the shooting.

"Our agency is carefully examining this tragedy with hopes of finding some closure," Saxton said. "As sheriff my heart goes out to those directly affected. And our heart aches for the children left behind of the Elferdinks. In law enforcement, we are a family and the family of our employees are family members."

Mentioning that there were more than 350 suicides among law enforcement officers in the United States last year, Saxton said, "We will continue to look closely into why this happened. We may never know the whys but we will continue to look into (it) in hopes of this type of incident not happening in the future."

He said law enforcement loses about twice as many officers to suicide each year as it does to those killed in the line of duty.

MLive writer Al Jones may be contacted at ajones5@mlive.com. Follow me on Twitter at ajones5_al