Cable television news shows for more than two years have been telling the story to viewers in Illinois and elsewhere about a young mother of two that vanished.

The story has taken a tragic turn, with the husband of the missing woman -- embroiled for the past six months in a child custody dispute with his wife's family -- killing himself and their two sons, police said.

Officials said the man, who had supervised visits with his children during the custody battle, refused to let a social worker who brought the boys to him into his home once his children were inside. She smelled gas, and as she tried to notify her supervisors about what was happening at the scene, the house exploded.

Sheriff's officials in Washington state recovered three bodies, believed to be those of the man and the children. The social worker was not hurt.

Their deaths came just days after the man filed paperwork in the custody case, proclaiming himself a devoted father who gave the children a good home. He said his children had been physically injured while their maternal grandparents looked after them. But a court had denied the man's custody request. The judge ordered the man to undergo counseling and evaluation but allowed supervised visitation to continue.

The boys' mother, who now would be 29, went missing from her Utah home in December 2009. Her husband told police he returned home from a camping trip with their sons, then ages 2 and 4, to find her gone.

He then moved to Washington to live with his relatives, with his wife's family nearby. While he always had maintained he knew nothing of his wife's disappearance, police in Utah considered him their only person of interest.

In a custody case, the judge usually rules in the best interest of the children. In this case, it is clear the children were safer with their grandparents.

Source: CNN, "Official: Missing woman's husband blows up house to kill himself, 2 sons," Feb. 5, 2012