Authorities trying to locate Cole County man after house fire

Cole County authorities are asking for help finding a man who is missing after a fire destroyed a home near Eugene.

It happened just before 2:00 a.m. on Nov. 14 in the 16,000 block of Berry Street.

Authorities have determined that no one was in the house at the time of the fire, but have not been able to locate the resident, Glen Ford.

“We could not find a resident at that time,” Capt. Wheeler with the Cole County Sheriff’s Office said. “We could not enter the structure. It was too hot. We waited the next day, we’ve been through it a couple times. We even brought–to make sure there was no one in the facility, we even brought cadaver dogs in.”

Officials have not ruled out that the fire may be suspicious.

“As the information comes in, then we’ll start sifting through that information to try to determine if it’s somebody that just doesn’t want to be found or if it is something that is kind of foul play,” Wheeler said.

A neighbor told ABC 17 News he saw Ford running away from the home the night of the fire, but law enforcement has not confirmed such a report.

Ford is a 59-year-old white male who is 5’08” tall and weighs 150 lbs.

He was charged with two DWIs in the month leading up to the fire, but has no violent criminal history.

Anyone that has information to Ford’s whereabouts should contact the Cole County Sheriff’s Office so that authorities can verify that he is okay.

ABC 17 News called the Cole County Fire Protection District to see if crews have determined the cause of the fire, but has not heard back.