Guardia Civil officer, wife and son found dead in Alicante

Three bodies have been found in a town near the Costa Blanca holiday hotspot of Alicante.

The three people discovered dead are a police officer belonging to Spain’s Guardia Civil force, his wife and their son.

The three bodies were found in a Guardia Civil property in Dolores, a short drive from the coast where the family lived.

Dolores town hall has declared three days of official mourning.

It said in a social media statement: “Dolores town hall decrees three days of official mourning and the suspension of all scheduled festive activities, in light of the terrible events that occurred today in the municipality.”

The grim discovery was made around 11am on Saturday morning by a colleague of the unnamed officer.

Local reports said the 55-year-old had a gunshot wound to the head and his service firearm was found alongside him.

An investigation has been launched, with unconfirmed reports pointing it to being treated as a possible gender-based violence case.

It is not yet clear how the woman, 51, and their son, 24, died.

The Guardia Civil in Alicante province has not yet released any official statement.