BEMIDJI, Minn. — Family members have identified the two victims who lost their lives in a Beltrami County housefire Thursday as two young sisters who were staying with their grandmother so their mom could prepare for Christmas.
A GoFundMe post says the girls, 6-year-old AceLynn Seelye and 5-year-old RaeLynn Seelye, were at the home in Liberty Township, about 13 miles northwest of Bemidji, so their mother could wrap presents and prepare for Christmas.
Sheriff Ernie Beitel said in a press release that 45 firefighters and 16 rigs responded to the fire just before 6:15 a.m. Thursday. The second floor of the two-story home was fully engulfed when firefighters first arrived.
The two bodies were located in the rubble around 1 p.m. and taken to the medical examiner’s office for autopsy and official identification.
Proceeds from the GoFundMe account set up for the family will help pay for the girls' funeral expenses and allow their mother to stay home with three other children while getting their lives back on track.
Beitel says investigators from the State Marshal's Office and the Bemidji Fire Department are working to determine a cause.
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