Fire victim not officially identified

DIAMOND LAKE – While the person who was found dead in a housefire Monday, Jan. 6, hasn’t been officially identified, mourners believe it was Jim Morrison, and left a memorial in Morrison’s driveway. Morrison owned the house that burned at 327662 Highway 2 and was frequently seen hitchhiking between Newport and his home.

He was well thought of by the many people who gave him rides.

South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue Chief Shane Stocking said the investigation has been preliminarily completed. He said SPOFR, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, are confident on a cause, but are still waiting for test results. He said ATF was not called in because the fire was suspicious, but because of their expertise and resources. But an official report has not been completed.

“The Spokane Medical Examiner at this time has not issued a final report with cause of death, and has not identified the deceased,” Stocking said in an email to The Miner Monday. He said investigators are confident of the person’s identify, but unable to release the person’s name, cause of death or what caused the fire.

The autopsy was completed, he said, with SPOFR personnel in attendence. Investigators asked the Medical Examiner to run a lot of different tests, he said.

He’s waiting on the confirmed cause of death to finalize the report, which will be available to the public, Stocking said.

“Because of our interest in if the victim had passed prior to the fire starting, we requested an in-depth autopsy and analysis, and that takes time to which I do not control,” he wrote.