Bodies of 2 young sisters found after home burns to ground near Bemidji
Photo Courtesy: Family of AceLynn and RaeLynn
BEMIDJI, Minn. (FOX 9) - Two bodies have been found after a fire in northern Minnesota that left a home burned to the ground.
The Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office said around 6:15 a.m. Thursday, crews were called to a fire at a house on the 9000 block of Pony Lake Road Northwest in Liberty Township about 13 miles northwest of Bemidji.
Fire crews sift through the rubble at the house. (FOX 9)
When crews arrived, the second floor of the home was fully engulfed in flames.
The sheriff’s office said initial reports indicated that two children residing in the home were unaccounted for. At 4 p.m., deputies said two bodies had been recovered from the rubble. The medical examiner is now performing autopsies and will release the victims' identities.
The two sisters, 6-year-old AceLynn and 5-year-old RaeLynn, were staying the night with their grandma while their mother was wrapping presents and getting the home ready for Christmas, according to the GoFundMe.
The GoFundMe says the money raised will support the girls' mother, who is currently unable to work and caring for her three other children, and help pay for funeral costs.
Another GoFundMe has also been set up to help the girls' grandmother, whose house and belongings were lost in the fire.
The fire remains under investigation. The sheriff’s office has not released any additional information.