Update: 2 Bodies Recovered From Bemidji-Area House Fire

(Lakeland PBS-TV) — Two bodies were recovered around 1 p.m. Thursday from a house that started on fire in Liberty Township, which is 13 miles northwest of Bemidji.

The evening update comes after authorities said two children were unaccounted for in that house fire.   Authorities did not confirm if the bodies are that of the children.

“The victims were transported to the medical examiner’s office for autopsy and identification,” according to Beltrami County Sheriff Ernie Beitel.

The fire was reported at 6:12 a.m. in the 9000 block of Pony Lake Road NW in Liberty Township.  Click here for video from the scene.

According to a press release from Beltrami County Sheriff Ernie Beitel, the second floor of the two-story structure was fully engulfed when the first units arrived on the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Bemidji Fire Department, Shevlin Fire Department, Blackduck Fire Department, Solway Fire Department, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, Bemidji Ambulance, and the Minnesota State Patrol were all on the scene this morning.

Three investigators from the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office also assisted at the scene.