A California man was tackled as he began climbing over the railing of a bridge Thursday and police led his four young sons to safety, a day after his wife was found dead in the trunk of the family car.

Daniel Perez, 43, of Montebello, Calif., had been missing since last week. Thursday, armored vehicles boxed in his car on a San Diego County freeway and he was hit with a beanbag round as he apparently tried to flee.

It was a stunning climax to an intense search for Perez, his wife Erica, 39, and their four sons ages 6, 8, 9 and 11. The family vanished Dec. 5 from their home 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Relatives said the parents had a troubled, violent marriage, and both also had criminal records.

On Wednesday, Erica Perez’s body was found about a half-mile from the family’s home, police confirmed Thursday. 

The cause of her death had not been determined but her husband was considered a "person of interest" in her death, Montebello police said.