Woman perishes in Wewa house fire
At approximately 12:40 p.m. Central time, the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office Communication Center received a report of a residential fire on South 7th Street in Wewahitchka.
At the time of the report, it was unknown if the home was occupied.
According to a release from the GCSO, deputies and fire departments from the city of Wewahitchka, Wetappo Creek and Stone Mill Creek responded to the call. Once firemen were able to enter the residence, they discovered an elderly woman had succumbed to the fire.
The name of the deceased is being withheld pending positive identification by the District 14 Medical Examiner’s Office and notice to family or loved ones.
The State Fire Marshal is investigating to determine the cause of the fire. GCSO investigators are assisting with the case.
This report will be updated as necessary.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.