Authorities are searching for the owner of a Black Forest home that had been foreclosed on before it was destroyed in a fire early Wednesday after neighbors reported hearing possible explosions.

Investigators initially were unsure if anyone was in the home at 13645 Wildoak Drive when it burned to the ground, but El Paso County sheriff’s spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene said today no bodies were found and deputies are searching for the owner.

“We need to talk to him for purposes of this investigation,” Sevene said, adding the owner could be out of town and might not know about the fire, which broke out around 4 a.m.

Sevene declined to say if arson is suspected or if the owner is a suspect in a crime.

According to county property records, Mark Rance, 48, bought the home in 1990, refinancing it through JP Morgan Chase in 2004. Chase sought foreclosure on the loan in January after Rance defaulted and took possession of the home June 17. It is unknown if Rance had been evicted.

The next door neighbor, Kelvin Kaercher, was up late watching television when he said he heard a couple of muffled explosions and saw flames shooting from Rance’s home and garage.

Kaercher said he called 911 and raced over to the burning house. Thinking Rance might be asleep, Kaercher said he threw rocks against the bedroom window to wake him.

By then, though, the fire had grown too large to be near the home and firefighters had arrived, he said.

Rance had worked as a software developer, possibly for Intel, but had been laid off and was trying to make ends meet by freelancing, Kaercher said.

Rance was divorced several years ago, Kaercher said, and may have been dabbling in the mortgage business online.

Kelvin Kaercher and his dog P.J. walk past his burned neighbor’s home on Thursday, July 23, 2009. On the night of the fire, Kaercher heard the explosion and ran to his neighbor’s aid throwing a rock against the bedroom window, but got no response. Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette

Jerilee Bennett