Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 23, 1990 TAG: 9005230293
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"There was propane present, but the propane equipment was still intact," said S.C. Delp, special agent in charge of investigations for the State Police in Wytheville.
Charlie Matney, a Jolo, W.Va., well driller and part-owner of an auto parts store, died after an explosion ripped through his trailer Saturday morning near a campground in northern Wythe County.
Police have termed Matney's death suspicious.
Delp said the trailer also contained a wood stove, but police "found nothing to identify the source of the explosion."
Matney's trailer, which was at the foot of Walker Mountain just off U.S. 21 and 52, was destroyed.
Delp said police gathered samples of soil, wood, carpet and metal in a search for evidence.
Those samples, along with Matney's remains, have been sent to forensics experts in Roanoke for examination.
Delp said Matney's body was not intact following the explosion. Police identified the body based on statements by witnesses who saw him in the trailer prior to the blast.
Matney was alone in the trailer, Delp said.
State police are questioning acquaintances of Matney's in both Virginia and West Virginia.
The Wythe County Sheriff's Department reported Saturday night that Matney and another man from West Virginia stopped near the trailer in a pickup truck. The other man waited in the truck while Matney went into the trailer.
The man in truck was not hurt, although the blast smashed the truck's windows.
by CNB