BEDFORD -- Three Montvale Elementary students have been suspended from school after being suspected of talking about physically harming a teacher, a Bedford County schools official said this week.

Officials with the Bedford County Sheriff's Office on Friday interviewed the students and searched their homes but found no physical evidence, Bedford schools spokesman Ryan Edwards said.

The suspensions will remain in place pending a hearing with the students, their parents and Superintendent James Blevins, Edwards said. The case also has been turned over to the Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, he said.

The school system could not release any information on the students' names or ages, Edwards said. Montvale Elementary houses students from kindergarten through sixth grade.

Edwards said a concerned parent notified the sheriff's office about the students' chatter. He was unsure how the parent heard about it.

The school system on Friday sent a letter home with Montvale students to inform parents of the situation, Edwards said.