The Associated Press
PEQUOT LAKES, Minn.- A father and three of his daughters were killed Monday in a blaze that started near a wood-burning stove, authorities said.
Authorities identified the victims as Stephen Stork, 55, and daughters Tiffaney, 26; Sondra, 24; and Marcie, 17.
A fire detector was found in the central Minnesota home but its battery had been pulled out of the contact by the width of a paper clip, Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said.
One of the daughters was found in a basement bedroom that didn’t have an egress window, Klang said.
Autopsy results were pending, but the sheriff said it appeared they were overcome by smoke inhalation.
The Storks had moved to Minnesota from Iowa more than five years ago and had bought a cabin in a former resort where they had stayed and converted it to year-round living. Pequot Lakes is about 150 miles northwest of the Twin Cities.
Leslie Stork, the wife and mother of the victims, was at work at a nursing home when the fire started. The family also has a son and a 20-year-old daughter, relatives said.