Forensic tests confirm missing teenager died in Branti barn fire

Latvian State Police this week confirmed they have finally received forensic test results in the case of a fire that broke out on May 31 in a hay barn in the Branti parish of Smiltene municipality, killing one person.

After the fire, police received a report that a 14-year-old boy was missing, but without forensic results they could neither confirm nor deny that he was the person who died in the blaze. Several minors had reportedly been near the barn before the tragedy.

Test results

Jūlija Jurāne, senior specialist at the State Police Public Relations Division for the Latgale region, told Ziemeļlatvija that the forensic examination found a match with a sample collected to help establish the identity of the deceased. Because the sample came from a relative, the test cannot determine the exact sex or other specific details of the victim, but it indirectly confirms that the missing teenager died in the fire. Police noted that the pre-trial criminal investigation is ongoing, so further comments cannot be provided at this stage.

Family's ordeal

In July, media reports featured the story of the missing teenager's parents, who believed their son's remains were still scattered at the scene and criticized police for not searching the area thoroughly enough. Police responded at the time that the investigation was continuing, but that collecting human remains had been complicated both by the extensive fire and by firefighting efforts, during which some bone fragments may have been washed away.

Farewell

With the forensic results now in hand, the family will be able to bury the boy's remains. Smiltene Secondary School announced on its Facebook page on Wednesday, August 19, that a farewell ceremony for Martins Gustavs Feldmanis will take place on August 22 at 12:00 at the Smiltene town cemetery chapel. The boy was a seventh-grade student at the school.