West Columbia (WLTX) -- It's not out of the ordinary to get in on a good conversation at Studio West Salon in West Columbia. On Tuesday, that discussion surrounded the suspicious fire at nearby Old Mill Antique Mall.
"Never over here, not at all not in this area. You usually don't hear about anything like that," says Salon owner Liz Schaufler.
She's not just talking about the early morning blaze but the discovery of a body found in a storage area after the flames were put out.
Brenda Brodie says the whole situation seems quite odd. "Cordoning off the whole thing, that's weird for a fire unless there was something unsafe, but then, I didn't know about the body," says Brodie.
The burned body has not been identified. The suspicious circumstances are already raising concerns for Schaufler.
"You don't ever hear about crime or anything like that in this area, so it's pretty shocking," says Schaufler. And with so little know right now about the fire or body found, she just hopes the investigation uncovers something other than foul play.
"It's an old building, so it's definitely a possibilty that someone could've broken in," says Schaufler.
But until some questions surrounding the fire are answered, folks at Studio West Salon will continue to watch and wonder.
Old Mill Antique Mall is owned by the Causey family. They declined to comment on the fire or body found.
Meanwhile, an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday in hopes of identifying the remains.
3/12/2008 12:13:28 PM
