Monroe fire destroys cabin; body found

MONROE – A 71-year-old Freeport man was the likely victim of a Friday morning fire when the rustic log cabin in which he was staying burned.

Investigators would not release the man’s name.

A passerby saw smoke in the area of the Stream Road and made an emergency call at 9:13 a.m., said Sgt. Stu Jacobs of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

When firefighters from Monroe arrived, the cabin, which was about 200 yards off the paved road, was engulfed in flames, he said.

Fire departments from Winterport, Frankfort and Brooks assisted in fighting the fire, but the building began to collapse soon after they arrived, Jacobs said.

As the fire was extinguished, firefighters discovered the victim, and the Fire Marshal’s Office was summoned to the scene to investigate, he said.

The body was sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for positive identification. The medical examiner was unable to positively identify the body on Friday, a woman at the office said.

Jacobs described the cabin as a seasonal hunting camp, which was built in the 1970s. The cabin did not have electrical service. The cause of the blaze was unknown Friday.

The camp was about a mile south of Route 139, near the intersection of the Steam Road and Fisher Road.

Jacobs would not release the name of the owner of the property.

Law enforcement officers spoke with members of the victim’s family at the scene, but Jacobs said a positive identification of the man needed to be made.