Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say investigators have found the body of a person who emergency crews believed to be missing after a major house fire about 70 kilometres east of Ottawa on Tuesday.
The blaze burned through a two-storey home on County Road 9, just outside the rural community of St-Isidore, in the early hours of the morning.
First responders confirmed later in the day that one person had died and another person remained unaccounted for.
In an update on Wednesday morning, OPP from the Hawkesbury detachment said they had found the body of the second individual. Both bodies were discovered inside the house, according to police.
Neither of the two victims has been identified by the authorities. Provincial police continue to investigate the fire, along with the Ontario Fire Marshal and the Coroner’s Office, OPP said on Wednesday.
First responders were called to the house fire by a neighbour around 2:30 a.m.. on Tuesday, according to the head of the fire department in The Nation, Ont.
Firefighters got the blaze under control by around 5 a.m. and the flames were fully extinguished by about 10 a.m., leaving the house a total loss, fire Chief Tobias Hovey estimated on Tuesday.
He said approximately 40 firefighters from three of five local stations helped to battle the fire.
Provincial police urge anyone with information that could help investigators to “immediately” contact 1-888-310-1122.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). A person who provides information could receive a cash reward of up to $2,000, according to OPP.