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Four people succumbed to their deaths in two separate fire incidents in a small town called Laurel in Nebraska on Thursday. As the initial investigation started, police suspected foul play to be the reason behind it.
State patrol Col. John Bolduc said that at around 3 am on Thursday night, police responded to an explosion at a home on 209 Elm Street. One person was found dead inside the home.
Although witnesses allegedly heard gunshots, officials were unable to determine the individual's cause of death. The victim was identified as Michele Ebeling, a 53-year-old.
As firecrews extinguished the fire, reports emerged of another fire at 503 Elm Street, about five blocks away, where officials found three people dead. The victims were identified as Gene Twiford, 86, Janet Twiford, 85, and Dana Twiford, 55, who all lived in the same house.
According to Col. John Baldock, foul play may have been involved in the deaths that occurred.
He also said that fire investigators have determined that accelerants may have been used in both homes.
Nebraska State Police on lookout for a suspect
The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) has acknowledged that they are looking for a person or persons in relation to the event. Authorities were informed that an African-American male was seen leaving the area in a silver sedan.
Col Baldock said in a press conference:
"Fire investigators believe that accelerants may have been used in both of these fires. They also believe anyone who was inside the homes at this time may have been burned. Therefore it is possible that our suspect, or suspects received burn injuries during these incidents.
Although he refused to categorize the crimes, he said:
'We have two fires with deceased people three blocks apart it would be a stretch to say there is no connection but it is still very early in the investigation. We are not categorizing it as anything at this point, we have multiple crimes scenes with four dead."
Local Cedar County Sheriff Larry Koranda also commented on the incident and said:
"This is a tiny, safe community. We aren’t sure if they knew each other, but everyone knows everyone in this community. If people see something out of the ordinary, call the state patrol."
Laurel is a small town in Nebraska state and such incidents are rare. Having multiple similar incidents on the same night is a strange occurrence and hints strongly at foul play.
However, it is worth noting that fire-related crimes have seen a rise in recent times as a few other similar incidents have been reported recently.
Police are actively looking for the suspect and are hoping to make an arrest soon.
