Photo by Skip Lawrence A neighborhood child posts a handmade memorial Tuesday on a tree in front of the townhouse on Danielle Drive where the bodies of Pedro Rodriguez and his four children were found on Monday.

No tips have come in about the disappearance of Deysi Marlene Benitez, 25, and little is known about the deaths of the children, said Lt. Tom Chase of the Frederick Police Department. Eleven detectives from the FPD are working on the case, he said.

The father's body was found hanged from a bannister in the home; the children were found in beds.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore will not confirm what killed Pedro Rodriguez, 28, and the children until next week, though Chase said the office has ruled out stabbing and gunshots.

All five of the office's post-mortem examinations have been classified as "pending" as additional toxicology studies are necessary to make definitive conclusions. Chase said the delay is due to decomposition of the bodies, though he did not speculate how many days the family might have been dead.

The examinations will remain pending for at least a week, according to the medical examiner's office.

The search for Benitez

On Tuesday, police classified Benitez as a missing person.

"We are considering every possibility when it comes to Deysi," Chase said. "There's nothing special that we've been told, it's just the fact that she hasn't been heard from by friends and family for a week and a half."

Benitez has a sister who lives in Frederick , Chase said, and another sibling living in the United States. He did not provide the name of the sister, whom police have interviewed, and did not know the name or location of the other sibling. The sister told police her mother in El Salvador has also not heard from Benitez.

Chase would not say whether Benitez's mobile phone and credit card accounts have had recent activity. Benitez did not take any of the family's three cars — a white Nissan Sentra, a green Dodge Caravan and a burgundy Mercury Villager — which were parked next to the home Tuesday.

Frederick police have turned to other agencies to help find her, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a Maryland missing persons agency, and the Salvadoran Consulate, he said. On Tuesday, he met with a representative from the consulate.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office has also offered assistance, he said.

Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith is helping with the case. He said subpoenas will be issued to help find Benitez.

Smith declined to identify the recipients of the subpoenas, which seek information from documents, such as phone, medical or Internet records. Police have not had prosecutors review any applications for search warrants; the state's attorney office reviews applications before they are sent to a judge for approval.

Smith expects to be briefed by Frederick Police Department Chief Kim Dine again today, he said.

"Our focus right now is on finding the missing mother," Smith said. "We will do all we can to assist the police department with their efforts to find her."

Court records show that Benitez and Rodriguez were married Oct. 28, 2002 in Frederick County Circuit Court. They purchased their home in August 2005 for about $195,000, according to tax records.

James A. Dinkins, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore, said Benitez was in the United States legally, according to the Associated Press. The status of the other family members was still being investigated, the ICE official said. Benitez was in the United States under temporary protective status, which is similar to asylum, Dinkins said.

—Kate Leckie and Bill Green contributed to this report