ZILLAH, Wash. (AP) — It may take investigators some time to identify the cause of the fire that gutted a house near Zillah and took the lives of three people believed to be Washington State Patrol employees.
The fire is under investigation by authorities from Yakima County and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Sheriff’s Det. Stew Graham said three bodies were found by Monday night. County Coroner Jack Hawkins said dental records and DNA tests would be needed to confirm identities. Autopsies are scheduled Wednesday.
The patrol believes the dead are Troopers Kristopher Sperry and Gary Miller and his wife Anne Miller-Hewitt, a patrol dispatcher supervisor in Wenatchee. Sperry was a new trooper temporarily staying with the Millers.
