By: Knox Graham
 
GAUTIER, Miss.—Two bodies were discovered early Thursday morning in the home of an elderly Gautier couple.
 
Around 4:30 a.m. police were sent to their residence for a wellness check by a third-party who was concerned about their health according to Gautier Fire Chief Ray Frair.
 
“Upon arrival the police department got an odor of smoke and asked for the fire department to respond,” he said.
 
Once the fire department entered the house they found what appeared to be the after-effects of a fire that had burned out in the kitchen.
 
“The fire had been burning at some point and had used up all its oxygen and so it went out,” said Frair.
 
They then expanded their search into the rest of the house.
 
“We then found two victims in the house that appeared to be on in escape mode.”
 
Frair said it looks like the elderly couple was woken up by the fire and were on the move but were overcome before they could get out of the house.
 
“Because of the elevated carbon monoxide levels in the house they probably were overcome before they could get out,” he said.
 
He pointed to lack of oxygen as to why the fire actually went out before burning its way to other parts of the house.  The couple was dealing with a very limited amount of air to work with in his opinion.
 
The names of the two victims have not been released yet.