2 dead after house fire in Buck Lake, RCMP major crimes investigating
Community members at a resort lake southwest of Edmonton fear two young children died in a house fire.
On Wednesday morning at around 11 a.m., RCMP received a call about a house fire in the Buck Lake area.
Cpl. Mike Hibbs with RCMP Media Relations told CTV News Edmonton that when officers arrived on scene the home was engulfed in flames.
“We couldn’t access the house because of the intensity of the fire,” he said.
Hibbs said two bodies were recovered from the charred wreckage of the home.
Mounties have sent the remains to the medical officers’ office for identification.
The RCMP Major Crimes Unit is investigating the fire to determine if the fire was a criminal act.
Residents in the area told CTV News Edmonton that they had seen RCMP in the area around the now burned-out home in the days before.
Pat Hauser, who runs the resort at Hauser’s Cove alongside her husband, said police were actually watching the property in the hours before the smoke was seen and that there had been other recent fires as well.
RCMP initially did not comment about the police activity in the area.
On Friday, Mounties said they were conducting an "unrelated investigation" in the area. No further details were given due to concerns of "burning" an ongoing investigation.
“It’s very troubling to think that two little ones may have passed away,” Hauser said.
“To think that it wasn’t possible to grab the little ones,” she added, “is awful.”
Buck Lake is approximately 153 kilometres southwest of Edmonton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.