SHARON — Firefighters found the body of individual in the basement of a home on Route 14 that was destroyed in a Thursday morning fire.

The identity of the “male” is being investigated by the Vermont Medical Examiner, said Sharon Volunteer Fire Department Chief Nathan Potter, who said initial indications are the fire was accidental.

The property at 798 Route 14 belongs to Galen E. Mudgett Jr., Potter said. To Potter’s knowledge, no one else was living in the house except for Mudgett’s cat, which was also found deceased.

Mudgett’s whereabouts are currently unknown, Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney said.

White River Junction resident Nina Newcity-Gates said she was driving north to Sharon Thursday morning at about 8:15 when she noticed “white smoke from under the eaves” of the house, which was about a mile north of Sharhard Road.

Newcity-Gates decided to double back and pulled over in the driveway of the property to call 911.

Route 14 was closed to traffic in both directions beginning at about 8:30, as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. Motorists were asked to seek alternate routes. The road remained closed until nearly 5 p.m., according to VT-Alert.

The Hartford Fire Department was first to arrive at the scene, at about 8:30.

Cooney said that gusty winds made it harder to stop the blaze.

As of about 11 a.m., the majority of the house had burned. The chimney and some of the left-side exterior remained.

At 11:30, an excavator toppled the chimney and began removing corrugated metal roof panels that had collapsed into the house.

Soon after, fire department members entered the structure and started removing debris.

Fire departments from Hartford, Sharon, Royalton, Tunbridge and Pomfret were on scene.

Marion Umpleby can be reached at mumpleby@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.