Sheriff’s Office investigating suspicious death in vehicle fire

An apparent concerned citizen called 911 to report a vehicle on fire on Stoneman Lake Road, and deputies later confirmed a body was inside.

The incident occurred on Sunday, Dec. 4, around 5:15 p.m. According to Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, a man said he was driving south on Interstate 17 and saw smoke and flames rising from Stoneman Lake Road a quarter-mile east of the interstate. When he went to check it out, he found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames and the strong smell of gas.

“He stated the flames were too hot to get close to see if anyone was inside, so he returned to his vehicle and using binoculars, saw what appeared to him to be a person in the driver's seat of the vehicle,” YCSO reported Tuesday, Dec. 6.

The vehicle was still on fire when firefighters and deputies arrived. When the flames were extinguished, they discovered there was, in fact, a body in the driver’s seat.

“The person’s identity, cause of the death, and the cause of the fire are under investigation by YCSO detectives, with no current leads to report,” the sheriff’s office reported.