UPDATED AT 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
The victim in the fatal structure fire has been identified as 61-year-old Robert David Bowling Jr. of Austin.
This case is still under investigation; however, no foul play is suspected. The State Fire Marshal Office is also assisting as investigators attempt to verify the exact cause of the fire.
INITIAL NEWS RELEASE
Detectives with the Indiana State Police Sellersburg Post have launched a death investigation after responding to a fatal structure fire Wednesday evening in Scott County.
Around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jennings Township Volunteer Fire Department personnel responded to a 911 call reporting a structure fire in the 1000 block of West Harrod Road just northeast of Austin, according to a news release from Sgt. Carey Huls with the Sellersburg Post.
While extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered a deceased male inside the building and contacted the Scott County Sheriff’s Department, said Huls, who is the post’s public information officer.
The sheriff’s department then requested ISP detectives and crime scene investigators respond to investigate.
Detectives and CSI were on the scene until approximately 1:30 a.m. Thursday. After a preliminary investigation, detectives do not believe foul play was involved and are handling the case as a death investigation.
Authorities made notification to the deceased’s family; however, investigators are awaiting an autopsy before releasing the deceased’s name to the public.
This case will be updated as information becomes available.