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Foul play ruled out in SE house fire

Two Sleepy Eye fire victims in critical condition

SLEEPY EYE — The Minnesota State Fire Marshal has not determined the actual cause of a May 8 house fire but has ruled out foul play, according to Sleepy Eye Police.

Fire victim Katie Rehbein, 29, remains in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) in Minneapolis due to smoke inhalation and extensive burns. The condition of her 3-year-old son was updated Monday from guarded to critical at HCMC, police investigator Shawn Bohnen said Monday.

Four other occupants of the house on the 700 block of 3rd Avenue N.E. extensively damaged in the fire were treated and released from Sleepy Eye Medical Center. Besides 56-year-old Mindi Rehbein,the other occupants include two males ages 11 and 6 year old male and an 8-year-old female

Sleepy Eye Police and Fire Departments and the Brown County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the residential fire at 7:01 a.m. Thursday. Two citizens were assisting occupants out of the fully-engulfed home when police and firefighters arrived.

Officers learned Katie Rehbein was still inside the burning home. Firefighters immediately entered the home and removed her from the house.

Besides the state fire marshal, the fire s is under investigation by the Sleepy Eye Police and Fire Departments.

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