Two girls died in a fire Sunday in their grandparents basement in northwest Indiana.
Officers responded to a blaze in the morning hours at a home in the 9100 block of State Line Road in Dyer, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.
They found a 12-year-old girl in the basement of the home, the sheriff’s office and the Lake County coroner’s office said.
The girl, LeAira Rodgers, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:14 a.m., the coroner’s office said. She was identified with dental records, and autopsy results were pending Tuesday afternoon. She lived in Merrillville.
A 14-year-old girl was found in the home and given CPR, the sheriff’s office said. She was flown to Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago and pronounced dead at 10:42 p.m., the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. She was identified as Jasmine Levi of rural Streator.
Their grandparents safely escaped the fire, the sheriff’s office said.
“The emotional impact of this tragedy is shared by members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department,” Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said. “We extend our deepest condolences to this family and their loved ones.”
The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Lake County Crime Scene Investigation Unit were investigating, the sheriff’s office said.
