A fire completely destroyed the home of Chris Luedtke and his wife, Linda, this morning, beginning with an explosion at 7:30 a.m., according to Brian McGillivary writing on the Record-Eagle website. The Luedtkes and their 17-year-old son are confirmed dead.

Update: As of Tuesday, November 22, the Benzie County Sheriff’s department had confirmed they believe the son, Christopher’s, death was a homicide and the fire was set intentionally. The Record Eagle has been posting regular updates, including one today (Wednesday), and we encourage you to look there.

The Alert team is deeply saddened by the loss of the Luedtke family, and we wish them strength and the secure knowledge that their community is behind them 100 percent and here to help. The Alert likely won’t be doing any original reporting on the case itself, but we will be putting together a tribute to the family for the next issue.