Police in Britain were questioning a man and a youth on suspicion of murder today after saying they had found the body believed to be of the missing disabled young man James Hughes.
Hughes and his mother Heather Wardle (39) were both reported missing on Saturday from their home in Redditch, Worcestershire.
Wardle, who left home on Friday saying she was going to visit a friend nearby but never arrived, was discovered at the base of the tree with a ligature around her neck on Monday night.
The body of Hughes, who had the mental age of an 18-month-old child, was found at a property in Redditch on Wednesday.
Wardle's death is being treated as "unexplained."
The man and youth are being questioned at Redditch and Kidderminster police stations and a post mortem to determine the cause of Hughes' death is under way.
Superintendent Jane Horwood of West Mercia Police said it was one of the saddest cases the force had ever dealt with.
"What started out as a missing persons inquiry has tragically become an investigation into two deaths," she said.
"While we never gave up hope of finding both Heather and James alive, we were extremely concerned about both of them right from the start, and our fears for James obviously increased after the discovery of his mother's body."
Hughes, whose 22nd birthday was on Sunday, suffered from epilepsy, usually used a wheelchair and required constant care. Police said it was not clear when the pair had last been seen alive.
"We have had a good response to appeals for information and reported sightings of James are being investigated as we are still trying to establish exactly when and where he was last seen," Horwood said.
Wardle's long-term partner Brian Kirby (36) had said she was a "chatty, bubbly" mother who was brilliant with her four sons and he was shocked by the manner of her death.
"She was an excellent mother and really lovely," he said. "It's hurting me and the kids are also heartbroken and desperately missing her."