Deputies find 81-year-old man dead after Clinton County house fire

FOREST, Ind. (WISH) — An 81-year-old man was found dead after a weekend house fire in rural Clinton County, police said.

Just before 3 p.m. Saturday, deputies with the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department were called to a house fire in the 11000 block of East County Road 600 North. That’s in the small community of Forest, which is roughly 17 miles northeast of Frankfort and an hour northwest of Indianapolis.

Someone who had stopped by the home to check on the man who lived there noticed fire damage caused by “hot spots” inside the home and called dispatchers, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Deputies arrived and found 81-year-old Claude Faust, of Forest, deceased inside the home. An autopsy will determine how and why Faust died.

The fire is believed to be accidental but the cause remains under investigation, the sheriff’s office says.