“They kept our family tight,” husband and wife killed in Beaufort County house fire remembered by family member

BEAUFORT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) -The deaths of Frank and Gail Meeks are still fresh for their grieving family. The couple’s great-nephew Ben says it feels like a bad dream.

“We had just seen them the night before,” Ben Meeks said. “When we got the call, it was like don’t tell me it’s true.”

The longtime husband and wife died last Saturday night after Beaufort County deputies say their home on 27 Riverview Drive near Chocowinity, caught on fire.

“They always kept their house gorgeous, so it was just an utter shock,” Meeks said.

Meeks says their family wants answers as to what caused the fire because their world has been shaken since the couple’s deaths.

“They were the glue that held the family together,” Meeks said. “I told my cousin, I don’t want to see the family fall apart.”

Meeks says there’s still no word as to how the fire started. Officials say the exact cause can’t be determined, even though they don’t suspect foul play.

Officials also say the bodies of the couple are being examined in Greenville. The investigation continues.

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