Sister Margaret Held, OSF

A manhunt is underway in the rural Mississippi town of Durant for the killer or killers of two nuns who were found stabbed to death in their home on Thursday morning.

Fox News is reporting on the murder of Sister Margaret Held, SCN, and Sister Paula Merrill, OSF, who were found stabbed to death in their home after they failed to report for work at a nearby clinic where they served as nurse practitioners. The bodies of the two women, who were both in their mid-sixties, have been taken to a state crime lab for autopsies.

Maureen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, said there were signs of a break-in. The nuns’ car was also taken but it was later found undamaged behind a grocery store less than a mile away from the crime scene.

Authorities suspect robbery may have been the motive.

According to Police Chief John Haynes, officers are canvassing the area and looking at video from surveillance cameras in town to see if they spot anything unusual.

“The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has begun their investigation and we will not rest until we find the murderer and bring them to justice,” Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement.

Sister Paula Merrill, SCN

“These sisters have spent years of dedicated service here in Mississippi. They absolutely loved the people in their community,” said Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson in a statement. “We mourn with the people of Lexington and Durant and we pray for the Sisters of Charity, the School Sisters of St. Francis and the families left behind,” he added.

Meanwhile, accolades are pouring in from around the country for the two sisters whose life of tireless service to the poor will be sorely missed.

“They were earthly angels with hearts of pure gold,” Rosalind McChriston-Williams, a nurse who worked with them at the clinic, told the Jackson Clarion Ledger.

Dr. Elias Abboud, who worked with the sisters for years and helped build the Lexington Medical Clinic, said he's not sure about the future of the facility now that they are gone.

“I think the community is going to be different after this. You need somebody with that passion to love the people and work in the underserved area," Abboud said. "For somebody to come and do this horrible act, we are all shocked."

Held was a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee for 49 years "and lived her ministry caring for and healing the poor," a statement from the order said.

Merrill, who was a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth for more than 30 years, was originally from Massachusetts. According to her order, she found her calling in the Mississippi Delta community where 41 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Both orders are asking the faithful to pray for the souls of Sister Paula and Sister Margaret and for comfort for their families.

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