Richmond firefighters, called to the scene of a burning van early Monday, discovered human remains inside the vehicle after putting out the fire.
Richmond Police Sgt. Lowell Neinast said the male victim apparently lived inside the white GMC van. He has not been publicly identified pending notification of family.
Police were alerted to the fire at about 12:40 a.m. The van was parked at the side of a loading dock behind The Millenium Center, a beverage distributor at Collins Road and Maiden Lane Aveneue in Richmond.
“When officers arrived, they observed a van in the parking lot of the business fully engulfed in flames,” a Richmond Police Department report said. “The Richmond Fire Department responded and put the fire out. After the fire was out, human remains were found inside the van.”
The man apparently had been living inside the vehicle “for quite some time,” Neinast said. It appeared the van hadn’t been moved recently. Also, there was an air conditioner, microwave oven and refrigerator inside.
Neinast said the cause of the fire hasn’t yet been determined. The body has been transported to the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Officer, where an autopsy will be performed.
Fire department investigators set up spotlights early Monday and were still gathering information at the scene at 6 a.m.
