Body of elderly woman missing after Jersey Shore fire is found

Officials have found the body of an 89-year-old woman who was unaccounted for after a fire destroyed one duplex and heavily damaged two others in Sea Isle City, N.J.

The remains of Marie Zelinksi were found in her apartment in the duplex at 29 54th St., where the fire started Thursday, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland said in a statement. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the cause of death.

Two other residents of the building -- Elizabeth Coleman, 56, and Roy Lombardo, 60 -- were injured in the fire. Lombardo was treated at Cape Regional Medical Center, while Coleman was transferred to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden. Her condition was not released.

Officials on Thursday indicated the three victims were related, but did not say how.

Local, county, and state investigators, joined by agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, are working to determine the cause of the two-alarm fire, the prosecutor said.

Smoke from the fire could be seen for miles on what was a sunny day at the Shore.

(Courtesy of Timothy Fleming Photography)

Timothy Fleming, a real estate photographer, said he was shooting a property in the area when the fire broke out.

“I saw the smoke and put up the drone,” Fleming said.

Video shot by Fleming shows fire consuming one home as firefighters spray water on it and flames spread to two adjoining duplexes.