DETROIT – The body of a man who was last seen at his Detroit home was found Saturday in the burned house.
Kevin McGriff, 26, was last seen at about 5:30 a.m. Monday at his home in the 14000 block of Terry Street. He was home when his father left for work, but when his father returned, he saw there had been a fire and his son wasn't there.
Family members discovered McGriff's body inside the house Saturday afternoon.
"This already has been a terrible tragedy for this family and these events surely compound their pain," executive fire commissioner Eric Jones said in a statement. "Firefighters are required to conduct a full and complete search of every fire scene for any possible victims. We have a full investigation underway to determine what went wrong to prevent this from happening again. My team is reaching out to Mr. McGriff’s family to apologize to them personally."
Family and friends of McGriff had been looking for him for the past week and left a note on the front door of the fire-ravaged home for him.
"We've been driving around, going to homeless shelters, calling hospitals," family friend Ashley Zayti said.
But Zayti said McGriff was nowhere to be found after the fire on Monday.
"The Detroit Fire Department went through the property. They brought out the animals, which were both deceased -- a dog and a cat," Zayti said. "They cleared the property, stating no one was in the house at the time of the fire."
Then, Saturday, family and friends went to the house to get some paperwork, but ended up finding McGriff's body inside.
"To witness any family member or any human being in the state in which had to be witnessed today is deplorable," Zayti said.
Loved ones are feeling an array of emotions after the discovery.
"We're outraged. Someone has to be held accountable for this," Zayti said.
The family of McGriff questions how any of this happened, and they never expected what was a missing persons case to end like this.
"I want answers," Zayti said. "His family wants answers."