Body discovered during backyard fire in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS — A body was discovered in a Sioux Falls backyard on Wednesday, May 10, as authorities were responding to a fire call, police say.

Shortly before 1 p.m., first responders from Sioux Falls Fire Rescue and the city’s police department were dispatched to a home in the 900 block of South Thompson Drive for a report of a burning pile of leaves.

Police spokesman Sam Clemens said that upon arrival, fire crews found an 86-year-old man dead in the yard. He did not indicate the location of the body in relation to the fire or whether the body had been burned.

Nothing appeared to be suspicious about the death, Clemens said, but an autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause and manner of death. Results are expected to take six to eight weeks.