TOLEDO — A missing woman was discovered in a burned-down house after it was demolished in Toledo on Wednesday.
63-year-old woman identified as Rinda Brown was last seen around Nov. 21, according to our CBS news affiliate, WTOL.
Brown’s cause of death was smoke and soot inhalation, and the investigation is ongoing, according to the Lucas County Coroner’s Office.
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The house near the 400 block of Baden Street had caught on fire in the early morning hours on Nov. 24.
During the missing person investigation of Brown, officers were led to the Baden Street location, according to Officer Prince Flores of the Toledo Police Department.
The house was deemed a “code red building” due to damage that it had received after a previous fire in 2022.
Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said that crews will not do interior firefighting on code red buildings “unless there is a line of sight rescue.”
During the fire on Nov. 24, firefighters on scene considered searching the house, but due to a roof collapse, crews did not enter the house, said Armstrong.
“They did go around the entire house to look into the first-floor windows to attempt to see if there was anybody in there,” Armstrong said.
The crews found nothing.
Armstrong said that there were conflicting reports on whether the house was vacant or not.
The house was demolished later that morning, and the cause of the fire is still unknown.
Brown’s niece, Jamyia Smith, said her spirit kept bringing her to that house.
“I felt it. It’s like God kept guiding me there. I’m grateful that they’re doing their part, and they did decide to go through there, and they took our word as far as searching the house. I’m crushed,” said Smith.
City officials said there has been one previous complaint about the house on Baden Street.
According to the city, a report was made on Sept. 16 alleging that teenagers were trespassing at the house.
Code compliance inspectors monitored the house while it was placed on the city’s demolition list.
Smith said the discovery has been hard on her family, because they hoped that she would be found alive.
“I’m just going to stick with my family and try to, you know, try to stay strong,” she said. “Even though it’s an unfortunate situation for us, and we definitely weren’t prepared for this. I was optimistic on finding her. I was like, ‘I’m going to find her. She’s going to pop up.’ It’s a tough situation,” said Smith.
The case is still under investigation.
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