MANCHESTER — A couple found dead in an SUV off Sanford Road early Christmas morning lived less than a mile away, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland.

Police were alerted to the scene when someone inside the car called 911 around 3:30 a.m. McCausland said Eric Williams, 35, and Bonnie Royer, 26, were found inside. They lived together nearby on Easy Street.

The deaths are being treated as suspicious.

“Detectives are attempting to retrace their footsteps on Christmas Eve and asking anyone who had contact with them Thursday to call State Police in Augusta,” McCausland said in a press release.

Williams was found in the driver’s seat, Royer in the passenger’s seat. Autopsies on the two will take place Saturday at the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

“It’s too early to draw any conclusions,” said Lt. Jeff Love with Maine State Police told WGME. “We will treat this as suspicious and let the medical examiner’s office determine otherwise.”

The area where the vehicle was found is a dirt road with several sand and gravel pits and no homes, McCausland said.