Bodies not yet identified, but names of couple who owned burned home released

LONGVILLE -- Positive identification has not been made yet on the bodies found in a Longville lake home's ashes, said Cass County Sheriff Randy Fisher.

Sheriff's deputies transported the bodies and samples collected at the fire site to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies and evaluation.

The home was owned by a couple -- 47-year-old George and 45-year-old Emily Overmier. But Fisher said his office is not identifying the victims of the fire as the homeowners.

"Positive identification is going to take some time just due to the fire," Fisher said Friday afternoon.

An investigation into the cause of the fire, where it started and the cause of death of the individuals continues.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Mark Germain was returning to the site Saturday. Germain said at this point he is waiting for the coroner's report and lab results from test samples.

The house, an unattached garage and shed burned to the ground in the early hours of Thursday morning. No one reported the fire during the night. The buildings were smoldering remains when the Longville Fire Department learned of the fire and arrived on the scene about 8:20 a.m. Thursday.