Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*
Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol
Already have an account?
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
The Associated Press
Canton, Minn.

Fire victims believed to be Amish bishop and teenage son

Clearing debris after the fire
Firefighters watch an excavator clear debris Monday as they search for two missing people after a fire at the property near Canton, Minn.
Andrew Link | Rochester Post-Bulletin via AP

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

A sheriff in southeastern Minnesota says the two people killed in a house fire are believed to be a local Amish bishop and his teenage son.

Fillmore County Sheriff Tom Kaase says the coroner has not made positive identification, but investigators believe the victims are 58-year-old Yost Hershberger and 18-year-old Ben Hershberger.

Two bodies were pulled from the rubble of their house near Canton, Minn., on Monday. A passer-by reported the fire about 1 a.m. Hershberger's wife, Barbara, and two other sons, ages 23 and 30, were taken to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, Wis., hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Kaase says the Minnesota Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire. The sheriff says usually the only source of heat in an Amish home is a wood-burning stove.

The house is located about 5 miles north of the Minnesota-Iowa border, an area that's home to several hundred Amish people.

MPR News reporter Elizabeth Baier contributed to this report.