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Human remains found in burned cabin owned by missing Bay Area family

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Investigators have found the remains of at least two people inside the burned cabin belonging to a Northern California family that has been reported missing, and have announced that the blaze is being treated as a homicide and arson.

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office recovered the charred remains inside the cabin along Highway 193 in Garden Valley, where a wildfire broke out on Sept. 13, according to a statement from the agency.

Other remains, possibly belonging to a human, were also found, but investigators are continuing to examine them, sheriff’s officials said. Samples of all three sets of remains have been submitted for DNA tests.

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The remains were found inside a cabin owned by Adam Buchanan, who operates a construction business in the Bay Area city of Benicia. Buchanan, 37; Molly McAfee, 36; and their son, Gavin Buchanan, have been missing since the fire erupted, the Vallejo Times-Herald reported.

Attorney Stephen Gizzi told the paper that the family frequently visited the vacation home and had arrived at the cabin on Sept. 11.

Gizzi said Buchanan’s 16-year-old son remained home in Benicia.

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As the homicide investigation progressed, sheriff’s deputies searched Buchanan’s home and construction office in Benicia, hauling away computers, records and a pickup, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Gizzi has said detectives have not revealed why the case is being treated as a homicide.

“They did not have any outstanding out-of-the-norm business or family problems,” Gizzi said.

For breaking news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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