Four people in a family were found dead in the northern Vietnamese province of Yen Bai late Wednesday, with the suspect now hiding in a local forest, police said on Thursday.

The victims were identified as Tran Van Long, 32, his 20-year-old wife Phan Thi Hoa, two-year-old son Tran Van Tuyen, and his sister-in-law, 15-year-old Phan Thi Ha, all of the Dao ethnic minority, according to local authorities.

They were found dead with signs of being murdered at a makeshift tent set up to look after their crops near a forest in Lam Giang Commune, Van Yen District, according to officers.

The alleged murder occurred at around 5:00 pm on Wednesday.

One of the victims reportedly managed to phone their relatives at the time of the alleged murder, enabling police to identify the suspect, according to the Lam Giang administration.

The suspect, 26-year-old Dang Van Hung, allegedly killed Long and Hoa first before he saw Tuyen and Ha, and eventually took their lives.

Hung purportedly used a knife to murder all of the victims in what appears to stem from agricultural land disputes between him and Long.

The suspect was believed to hide in a nearby forest with his girlfriend and the two are still at large.

The Yen Bai police department has deployed all forces to hunt for the suspect, director Dang Tran Chieu told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday.

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