Neighbors worried about the welfare of a young couple who went missing 10 days ago, as a fast-moving wildfire spread near their backcountry home in the far southern reaches of San Diego County, found two bodies believed to be theirs Wednesday morning.
The grim discovery in the 7,600-acre burn zone of the Border Fire near Potrero was reported shortly before 8:30 a.m., according to county officials.
People who live near the Bell Valley-area home of the missing couple — identified as Jim Keefe and his girlfriend Kylie, whose last name is unknown — set out Wednesday morning to search for them, according to a Facebook page dedicated to the effort.
Mourning neighbors speculated on the website that the two likely perished while trying to round up their dogs as the blaze spread.
Authorities declined to immediately disclose the exact location where the bodies were found.
The Border fire erupted for unknown reasons near state Routes 94 and 188 on the morning of June 19 and went on to destroy five homes and about a dozen outbuildings over the next several days.
As of Wednesday morning, crews were still working to finish containing the smoldering footprint of the blaze, having gotten the burn zone about 95 percent surrounded, according to Cal Fire.
