1984 ranger 2.8 liter broken camshaft

[Boss302]

My son has a 1984 Ranger with a 2.8 liter v6 in it. One day while driving it just died all of a sudden and then didn't have any spark and would not start. After quick inspection we noticed that several pushrods were off the rockers and the ends of the pushrods were ate up or gone completely. After digging into it a little more we found that the camshaft was completely broken in half in three different pieces. Has anyone ever seen this happen before and if so what was the cause of it? Thanks in advance

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

How do the bearing journals look?

Not common at all on its own, possibly fatigue. Does the engine turn easy and everybody has compression? Generally when a cam breaks (especially multiple times at the same time) its because a busted connecting rod hits it...