Barricades block off a portion of Elm Street in Laurel, Neb., Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. The Nebraska State Patrol is investigating a situation with multiple fatalities that occurred in Laurel on Thursday morning. Emergency personnel from the state patrol, Belden and the Cedar County Sheriff's Department were working in the area. LAUREL, Neb. — — Four people were found dead Thursday in two burning homes in a small community in northeastern Nebraska, authorities said.
Firefighters responding to a call Thursday morning about an explosion and fire at one of the homes found the body of a person inside, Bolduc said. Authorities didn't release the names of the dead or say how they died, but they said witnesses reported seeing a man leaving Laurel in a silver car. Bolduc referred to the man as a suspect in the deaths and said he may have picked up a passenger on the way out of town.He would not say how or whether the victims were related and declined to speculate on the circumstances leading to the killings.Laurel is home to fewer than 1,000 people and is located about 100 miles northwest of Omaha.