DAYTON — Police are investigating after a body was found Thursday night in a garage that was on fire.
When crews responded to the 200 block of Lexington Avenue, the garage was engulfed in flames, according to a Dayton police incident report. Once it was extinguished, firefighters found a body inside.
>> Bones found in Dayton burned garage identified as missing man
The body has not been identified, and the death is still under investigation by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, a spokesperson said. It is not clear how the person died.
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This is the third time in recent weeks that a body has been found in a burned garage.
On Sept. 10, a body was found in a garage on North Horton Street after a fire the previous day. The man was identified as Patrick Northern, 53, of Dayton. His cause of death has not been released. It is unknown whether Northern was in the garage at the time of the fire or if his body was placed there after.
>> UPDATE: Body found inside Dayton garage that caught fire
On Sept. 26, remains later identified as Kwasi Casey were found in a burned out garage on Fountain Avenue.
Casey, 40, had been missing since July. His family believes Casey was kidnapped.
It’s unknown whether any of the three cases are connected.
MORE: Family seeks answers about Dayton man involved in kidnapping case
The fire Thursday burned the two-car garage to the ground.
A longtime resident of the neighborhood, Allyson Williams, said the fire started small, but after the wind gusted, it “exploded.”
“It seemed like it exploded. The trees were on fire, the fire was running up the electrical poles, wires were popping off,” Williams said. “Nothing is left. It’s just black back there.”
When she found out that a body was found in the garage, Williams said she couldn’t sleep.
“It’s a very nauseating, hurting, bleed your heart type thing,” she said.
Another resident, Robert Wallace, said he never thought that something like this could happen in his backyard.
“I’m at a loss for words now,” Wallace said.