Southeast Missouri man dies in house fire

ELLSINORE, Mo. -- The Carter County Coroner's Office is in the process of scheduling an autopsy for an elderly Ellsinore man whose body was found early Wednesday morning in the charred remnants of his home.

The victim is identified as Jesse Cates, believed to be about 77 years old, according to Carter County Deputy Coroner Eric McSpadden.

"We're going to have to [do an autopsy]; it's pending right now," said McSpadden, who was in the process of setting one up possibly for later Wednesday.

The fire at Cates' home was reported at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, apparently by "someone driving by; they ran up to the house. The house was engulfed in flames," explained Ellsinore Mayor David Bowman, who also is a volunteer firefighter for the Ellsinore Fire Department.

Ellsinore firefighters responded with three trucks to what Bowman described as a "wood-structured house on a basement," which was located about a mile northwest of town on Route N. Volunteer firefighters with the Little Black Fire Department, he said, also responded with one tanker.

"When we got there, the roof was down and just a couple of walls were standing," Bowman explained. "It had been burning for a little bit.

"It was eight minutes after the call that we were on the scene, if that long. We responded pretty quick. It had been burning a long time [when] someone drove by and saw it glowing in the sky."

Bowman said firefighters suspected Cates, who lived alone, still was inside the home because his car was in the garage.

"We were not 100 percent sure, but had a good idea he was probably in there," he said.

Firefighters, Bowman said, began putting the flames out and tried to keep the fire under control, so it did not cause more problems with the grass around the home and the nearby field.

"We knew if he was in there, it was too late; the floor had fallen into the basement," Bowman said. "It was hot and rolling [with] just a couple of walls standing.

"Of course, they [walls] fell in as we were trying to put out the fire."

As firefighters were cooling down the fire, they also were searching for Cates, Bowman said. "We [searched] off and on, probably all night trying to find him," he said. "We discovered the body at about 2 a.m."

According to Bowman, the "whole place" was in the basement. Firefighters believe Cates had been in the living room.

Firefighters, he said, remained on the scene until about 3:15 Wednesday morning.

Bowman said the fire was under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office.

"They arrived last night … around 10:30 to 11 o'clock," Bowman said Wednesday. "They stayed with us through the night."