ORLANDO, Okla. (KFOR) – Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and Logan County Sheriff’s Office officials are investigating after a body was found in a burned vehicle Monday night, just two miles northeast of Orlando, Okla.
OSBI is leading the investigation. Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux said they have more resources for forensics and labs among other things, so they are assisting them in this case.
“We believe [it] to be arson,” Devereaux said.
The grass was still smoking at the scene, Tuesday night, where the van was found just 50 feet inside of the Logan County line.
“The vehicle sitting out here in the middle of nowhere,” Devereaux said. “That doesn’t happen a lot without something happening.”
Noble County firefighters were battling a grass fire Tuesday night in the field where the van was found.
“That’s when they saw the van that appeared to be kind of dumped on kind a road less traveled,” Devereaux said.
According to Devereaux, they called the Noble County Sheriff’s Office to come take a look.
“The deputy responds, looks inside the van, sees a person sitting in the driver seat,” he said.
After some discussion, it was later realized that the van was sitting just on the Logan County side of the Noble-Logan County line. Sheriff Devereaux then got a call at about 8 p.m. Monday to come check out the scene and start an investigation.
“We think that the vehicle’s what started that fire,” Devereaux said. “We’re investigating it as a homicide until evidence takes us elsewhere.”
Devereaux said they have some ideas gathered from the investigation, but there’s not much else to go on right now until the investigation is further along.
“We don’t know much of anything else at this point,” Devereaux said. “Looking at things, nothing jumps out at us that something illegal was done, but that’s what the medical examiner and OSBI is going to determine.”
Devereaux added that they think the deceased driver was the only one on scene. He said they have an idea of who the person is, but they don’t want to release that information until they can confirm who it is.
