A Mississippi 3-year-old boy was able to lead deputies to where his mother and two sisters drowned at a remote Louisiana beach.

NOLA.com reports that the family of five, from Ethel, Mississippi, visited Long Beach in Cameron Parish on Sunday. While at the beach, Samantha Alexander, 28, went into the water to rescue her children. Alexander and her two daughters, ages 7 and 8, drowned during the rescue attempt.

A 9-year-old boy survived and was rescued after his 3-year-old brother was found by sheriff’s deputies walking on the side of the road. The boy led deputies to the scene where his mother and two sisters drowned.

Cameron Parish Sheriff Ron Johnson told NOLA.com that the dangerous conditions at the beach caused the drownings. The bodies of the mother and her daughters were found roughly 100 feet apart.

Johnson said the beach is very remote, sparsely populated and has numerous rocks in the Gulf that are hard to climb.

Officials say the 9-year-old son was taken to a local hospital and released after a short stay. His father works in the Cameron Beach area for a liquefied natural gas facility.

The Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office was assisted on Sunday by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, Johnson Bayou Fire Department, Cameron Parish Ambulance District No. 2 and the U.S. Coast Guard.