Coroner identifies South Shore trailer fire victim

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — The El Dorado County coroner’s office has identified the man found dead in a travel trailer near the state line last week.

Firefighters found the body of South Lake Tahoe resident William Albert Hunt, 48, in a burning trailer around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning. The trailer was on Moss Road behind the Travelers Inn.

Police consider the death suspicious.

Firefighters responding to the call found a locked padlock on the outside of the trailer, and police are investigating whether the lock might have prevented Hunt from escaping the burning trailer.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office — which conducts all of El Dorado County’s forensic autopsies — performed an autopsy last week, said El Dorado County Deputy Coroner Larry Olsen.

Hunt’s body showed “no significant trauma,” Olsen said.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is “a possibility,” but a cause of death will not be determined until toxicology results are available in a few weeks, Olsen said.

Josephine Wood, manager at the Elizabeth Lodge, said she had known Hunt — known as Bill — for years.

Hunt lived in South Lake Tahoe for about 20 years and had worked as a maintenance man at numerous South Shore lodging properties, Wood said.

She said Hunt was “having a hard time” keeping steady work, and lived in the trailer where firefighters found his body.

“Bill was one of those people who had some ability, but just wasn’t able to find their place up here,” Wood said. “It’s a shame.”