A Webster County man’s weekend fire death appears to have been accidental, according to authorities.
The victim was identified as Robert Hodges, 56. Webster County Sheriff Andy McCants said his body was discovered Saturday morning in a burned metal building off Gilbert Hill Road, which runs between Old Cumberland and Old Dancy roads. He said the building, which was used as a deer camp and had a wood-burning heater, burned sometime during the night.
The Cumberland Fire Department and Webster County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call about the structure fire shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday, Webster 911 reports show. McCants said the landowner discovered the burned building while checking his property.
“It completed burned the inside of the building,” the sheriff said of the fire, adding that it was out when firefighters arrived.
The Sheriff’s Department turned the investigation over to the state Fire Marshal’s Office and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Although the exact cause of the fire has not been determined, McCants said, “They’re considering it an accidental fire and death.”
McCants said the body was sent to Jackson for an autopsy.
