WASHINGTON — Investigators discovered a body in the charred rubble of a two-story Rockville, Maryland, house that burned down Thursday night.
Montgomery County police said Friday evening they have not yet identified the body, although the homeowner — identified as 71-year-old Larry Joseph Pagliai — could not be accounted for.
Police said the medical examiner’s office in Baltimore would conduct an autopsy.
The discovery of the body Friday morning, hours after heavy equipment and a search dog had been brought in to help locate the home’s occupant.
Fire crews had responded to multiple calls in the 16100 block of Willow Lane around 10:15 p.m. Thursday night.
Around 75 firefighters battled the blaze at the scene. It took them about 20 minutes to get the fire under control.
The inferno caused “total structural collapse,” Chief Montgomery County Fire & Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said.
The fire left little more than rubble behind.
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue investigators are still trying to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
WTOP’s Dennis Foley contributed to this report.