Starke County Coroner Coordinates with Indiana State Police on Fatal Vehicle Fire Investigation

Officials are working to determine the identity of the occupant who was found after a vehicle fire was extinguished last Wednesday.

As a reminder, police officers and firefighters were dispatched to a vehicle fire in the woods behind a residence in the 9500 east block of 250 north in the Grovertown area on August 8th. When a body was discovered shortly before midnight responders were unable to confirm the gender or identity of the deceased subject.

Starke County Coroner Dannie Hoffer reports that an autopsy has been performed and the person was found to be female. In order to determine the identity, Hoffer sent a sample of her DNA to the Indiana State Police to be analyzed. He said he expects the results to come in sometime this week.

Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is being investigated by ISP, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office. No information about the investigation is available at this time. More details will be shared as soon as they are provided.

If you have any information that could assist investigators, contact the Starke County Sheriff’s Department at 574-772-3771.