ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Police confirmed Thursday that human remains found inside a St. Petersburg home after a small house fire are those of a woman who'd been missing for weeks.
Kelli Fisher, 42, was found at a home her family owned located at 1720 Prescott St. South. Detectives said Fisher's family was informed of their findings on Wednesday. Police released information earlier in the day that they had discovered human remains while investigating a house fire that had occurred on July 28.
The home was next door to where Fisher and her aunt lived together. Fisher's family had said she sometimes would visit this home.
The aunt reportedly told police she heard Fisher leaving in a car the morning of July 16, and by the time she could look outside, the car was already driving down the street. However, Halstead said the aunt is confident Fisher was in the car.
Taking her aunt's car isn't unusual, Detective Shannon Halstead said on Tuesday, adding Fisher would frequently use it to run errands. However, when she left the Prescott Street home she shared with her aunt, she never returned.
No one in her family had heard from her since, which Jackson said wasn't like her at all.
Fisher's aunt then filed a police report. The next day, on July 18, the car was found in an abandoned lot near 803 28th Ave. S. There was no sign of Fisher. Police said they found the car with the door slightly ajar and inside found three phones and a small amount of cash on the dashboard. Halstead said none of the devices appear to belong to Fisher; police are working to learn what they contain.
When police were looking into Fisher's disappearance, they first spoke with a man and a woman who on July 4 reportedly were in a "minor dispute" with the 42-year-old. A police report was filed, which Halstead explained led them to the two individuals. However, neither person had any information pertinent to the missing persons case.