Police looking for man missing after fire find unrelated body
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Human remains of a body were found in South Memphis near a wooded area and a burned-out house Thursday night, according to the Memphis Police Department.
Meanwhile a family is desperate for answers after their loved one’s home on the street went up in flames, and they say he hasn’t been seen since.
But that family said Friday the body that was found is not that of their missing loved one.
“This right here is weird. Never, nothing like this has happened,” said Shuntrell Irby, who made a desperate plea to find his father, 72 year old Edwin “Uncle Mike” Irby.
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Police say at 9 p.m., they were were out searching for Irby, and found a body in the woods across the street in the area of Pecan Circle and Airways Boulevard.
The remains have been recovered and taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office, but police say the identity of the person and cause of death are still unknown. At this time, it is also not clear if the human remains are of a male or female.
Irby hasn’t been seen or heard from since his Pecan Circle home in South Memphis went up in flames at 3:30 Wednesday morning.
“His phone is off. I’ve been calling his phone number ever since I found out, just straight to voice mail,” Shuntrell Irby said. “So we’re still hoping and praying that he’s alive and well and he’s somewhere that he’s safe.”
Irby’s niece Daphne Green was there when they made the discovery of the remains.
“So we was like OMG at first, but then we found out the body had been there for a while so it wasn’t him,” Green said.
Police say the two incidents are unrelated, adding the identity and the cause of death are still unknown.
Also unknown is what happened to Irby, and where he might be.
“I was relived but also sad that another life was taken,” Shuntrell Irby said. “Senseless acts of violence and everything. We just hope and pray that that family gets their peace of mind as well, we get our peace of mind as well.”
The fire department ruled the fire accidental from an unattended generator and reported no injuries, so it’s unclear whether Irby was home at the time.
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Anyone with any information on either case is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 528-CASH.
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