One dead, one missing after house fire

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- One adult is dead and a 5-year-old child is still reported as missing after a fire destroyed a mobile home in the Hillcrest Manor mobile home park in Bemidji..
The Bemidji Police Department and the Bemidji Fire Department both responded to a report of a fire in the park at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and found the house “fully engulfed” in flames. After firefighters gained control of the fire, they discovered the body of an adult, according to a press release from police.
During the investigation, law enforcement learned that 5-year-old Brittany Rose Balcer had been visiting the home when the fire occurred. Though the scene of the fire has been completely processed, Balcer has not been located, police said.
The 5-year-old is about 34 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds with blond hair and green eyes. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, a pink skirt with stars and had a pink bandage on her arm covering poison ivy.
Law enforcement personnel searched the area Wednesday evening. There has been no call for a public search at this time, officials said.
Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin has scheduled a press conference for 10 a.m. Thursday at the Law Enforcement Center.
The Bemidji Fire Department, the state fire marshal, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office and the Bemidji Police Department are all investigating the death. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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