A Huntsville mother drowned her 8-year-old autistic son in the Tennessee River and then killed herself at her Huntsville home, according to Marshall County authorities.

The body of Randle Barrow was discovered in the Honeycomb area of the river early this morning after a search by authorities in Madison and Marshall counties. His mother, Delicia Barrow, 42, was found dead in her home on Alburta Drive in Huntsville on Saturday morning. Huntsville Police discovered her body and noticed the home was on fire at about 10 a.m. when they went to check on Randle, who had not been to school in two days.

Huntsville Police have not said how Mrs. Barrow died or what caused the fire. The investigation is ongoing.

Mrs. Barrow had been charged in September with stabbing a nurse at Huntsville Hospital. Read story here.

Lt. Heath Thomas, spokesman for the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, said Mrs. Barrow left a note in the home giving clues to the location of Randle's body.

"We began a search of the shoreline north of Guntersville," Thomas said. "The body of the child was found along the shoreline in the Honeycomb area near Sunrise Marina just after midnight on Sunday morning by deputies. We were joined at the scene by an HPD Investigator assigned to investigate the death of Delicia Barrow."

Randle's body was taken by Marshall County Coroner Marlon Killion to a state laboratory for an autopsy.

"At this point in the investigation, it appears that the mother, Delicia Barrow, drove the child into Marshall County and drowned him in the Tennessee River and then returned to her Huntsville home, where she apparently committed suicide," Thomas said. "This investigation continues as we wait for a full autopsy report from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences."

Guntersville Rescue Squad also assisted in the search, Thomas said.

Rhonda Brewster, a friend of the Barrows, said Randle's father was killed in a car wreck on Green Mountain in Huntsville when Randle was a baby. Mrs. Barrow had been a single mom since then.

"It makes me so sad about Delicia because she was such a good mom to Randle," Brewster said. "She was handling all of his issues on her own, and I know she was lonely, but she did the very best she could. All of her work with him made him much better, but I bet she didn't think that. Having an autistic child is so very hard, and I can't imagine accomplishing as much as she did."