BRADFORD COUNTY, Fla. – The family of a 13-year-old boy who has not been accounted for since a fire destroyed his trailer home on Tuesday is asking the community for prayers, the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office said.
BCSO identified the teenager as Colton Austin Kuehl.
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Kuehl is believed to have been inside the trailer on SW 84th Street in Sampson City when the fire erupted. He had stayed home from school on Tuesday due to illness while his mother was at work.
A next-door neighbor said they saw the trailer go up in flames.
“It’s a sad feeling because I saw the fire and there was nothing I could do, and then finding out that there was a kid in it is very sad,” Miles Hudson said.
The remains of a juvenile were found lying on a bed in the home, investigators said, but the medical examiner is still working to positively identify those remains and to determine the cause of death.
The Sheriff’s Office said Kuehl’s family is asking for prayers as he remains unaccounted for.
Kuehl’s mother works at the Alachua County Jail in Gainesville, and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is rallying around her.
“It was very difficult for the staff at our department of the jail,” Chris Simms of the ACSO said. “It’s even more terrible when you work alongside an individual every single day and then have to look them in the eyes and tell them that they’ll no longer hug their child anymore.”
Since the fire, Kuehl’s mother has been staying with relatives while the sheriff’s office, the state fire marshal’s office and the Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating.
“We really want to stress that we don’t want people on social media trying to point fingers and lay blame, just try and be negative,” said Brad Smith, chief deputy of BCSO. “This family is dealing with just a horrific tragedy right now, and we want to uplift them as much as we can to try and support them in this difficult time.”