SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Investigators were trying to piece together events after firefighters early Tuesday found a home and two other structures on fire, a body inside one of them and the family that owns the property in western Oregon missing.
Firefighters responding to a report of a fire near the town of Hubbard found three separate structures burning. Each of the fires ignited separately, Lt. Chris Baldridge of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office told The Associated Press. He said the case is being treated as a criminal investigation.
The residence belongs to Erin Kroeker, 39 and Keith Kroeker, 42, and their three children, the sheriff’s office said. Their whereabouts are unknown, and anyone with information should contact the sheriff’s office, the department said. Baldridge said the body has not yet been recovered and that it is unknown of it belonged to a family member.
Neighbor Michelle Palacios said the family has been there for years, their children attending local schools, the Woodburn Independent newspaper reported.
“We’ve always been neighborly … we’ve gone to each other’s jewelry parties, we’ve exchanged Christmas cookies,” Palacios was quoted as saying. “This is just bizarre.”
Crews will be working through the night and into Wednesday stabilizing the residence and sifting through debris “in an attempt to discover what took place early this morning,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Firefighters were called around 3 a.m. and had to deal with a live power line and a lack of water at the site. At 3:30 a.m., they found one dead person inside the burning residence. Seven fire agencies fought the fires.
The property is located amid hop farms in the Willamette Valley off Interstate 5, between Portland and Salem. A shop and detached garage also caught fire.
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