Couple identified as two victims of Missouri house explosion. Gas leak confirmed

The couple killed when an explosion destroyed their home near Excelsior Springs have been identified, a Clay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman said Monday.

The bodies of 70-year-old Oliver W. Campbell and 65-year-old Katherine A. Campbell were found midday Friday in the rubble of their home in the 14400 block of Kimberly Drive in rural Clay County, said Sarah Boyd of the Clay County Sheriff's Office. The couple's dead dog was also found at the scene of the explosion.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office, which is investigating the explosion, also confirmed on Monday that there was a gas leak.

“Due to the force of the explosion and the extent of the building damage, the cause of the gas leak or the source of ignition could not be determined,” said a statement from the fire marshal's office released by Boyd. “The Missouri Division of Fire Safety has classified the explosion as unexplained.”

It may take up to 30 days for the full incident report to be available.

The explosion occurred around 4:40 a.m. Friday. Callers called the sheriff's office to report that their neighbor's house had exploded. The explosion was felt for miles.

Arriving officers reported that the house was completely leveled by the explosion and was engulfed in flames. Boyd said the explosion also damaged neighboring homes and blew open some doors, but none of the neighbors were injured.

Because homes in the neighborhood use propane for heating and cooking, investigators looked into whether a gas leak had caused the explosion. Officials from the Missouri Propane Safety Commission were immediately on site to investigate the explosion.