2 discovered dead following Buccaneer Estates fire, neighbors want answers

Two people were discovered dead in a home that caught fire in Buccaneer Estates last week, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say the two people were found inside the home after the fire was put out, but their cause of death is still unknown.

The fire started last Tuesday at a home on Jose Gaspar Drive in the North Fort Myers Buccaneers Estates.

A manufactured home was destroyed and a nearby home was damaged by heat and fire.

For the past seven days, neighbors have wondered what happened. They know fire reduced the home to ashes, but from the start, they speculated about the cause.

“All you heard was a bunch of popping, and loud little explosions were going off,” said one neighbor after the fire last week. “People heard gunshots going off before the fire even started!

They asked what happened to the people inside.

“Of course there’s been a lot of speculation around the community and I’ve heard a lot of rumors,” said Janet Roberts.

As LCSO confirmed the two people were found dead inside the home, they will not release their cause of death, since they are a part of an active investigation.

WINK News obtained the sheriff’s office incident report. The initial paperwork lists the investigation as “homicide.”

“It was very scary and you know, like, I worried about the people inside because I did know them,” said Roberts.

She and her husband were not in town when they got a call about the fire next door. It turns out, the flames burned part of their home.

“Normally at that time we would’ve been sitting out on the patio, which you can see is…” she said.

So every time they step outside, the Roberts’ wish they knew if what happened was a tragic accident or something more.

And they’re not alone. Nearly a dozen people who live in Buccaneer Estates told us that until they know what happened, they’ll not rest easy.