DURANT, Miss. — Two nuns who worked as nurses and helped the poor in rural Mississippi were found slain in their home, perhaps victims of a break-in and vehicle theft, officials said Thursday.

Authorities would not say if they have a suspect but disclosed that they'd recovered a car missing from the home. They also did not release a cause of death, but the Rev. Greg Plata said police told him the sisters were stabbed.

The nuns were identified as Sister Margaret Held and Sister Paula Merrill, both 68. Their bodies were taken to a state crime lab for autopsies.

The women, both nurse practitioners, were found Thursday morning when they didn't report to work at a nearby clinic, where they provided flu shots, insulin and other medical care for children and adults who couldn't afford it.

“They were two of the sweetest, most gentle women you can imagine. Their vocation was helping the poor,” said Plata, who oversees a 35-member Catholic church the sisters attended.

Maureen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, said there were signs of a break-in at the home and the nuns' vehicle was missing.

Later, Warren Strain, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, said the blue Toyota Corolla was found abandoned Thursday evening on a secluded street barely a mile from the home, the vehicle apparently undamaged. He said police haven't determined when the car was abandoned and it was being towed to the state crime lab near Jackson, Mississippi's capital city.

Authorities didn't release a motive and it wasn't clear if the nuns' religious work had anything to do with the slayings.

Police Chief John Haynes said officers are checking video from surveillance cameras in town to see if they spot anything unusual.

Dr. Elias Abboud, who worked with the sisters for years, estimated that the clinic provided about 25 percent of all the medical care in the county, which has a population of about 18,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates for July 2015.

The two nuns provided almost all the care at the clinic, and many in the community wondered what would happen to it now — and the people it served.