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

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.

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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