Officials Say Fire in Former Home of Missing MA Woman 'Not Suspicious'

Jackson Cote

masslive.com

(TNS)

The fire that broke out Friday at the former home of Ana Walshe, the Cohasset woman who has been missing since Jan. 1, was accidental and determined by investigators to not be suspicious, according to authorities.

While the cause of the two-alarm fire at the home at 725 Jerusalem Road in Cohasset had yet to be determined Friday night, investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office revealed by Saturday morning that the blaze was accidental and not suspicious. Instead, it originated in an area of the house that contained some damaged piping connected to a natural gas fireplace insert.

“Home heating equipment is the second-leading cause of residential fires in Massachusetts, and it’s the main source of carbon monoxide at home,” Jake Wark, a spokesperson for the State Fire Marshal’s Office, said in a statement about the fire. “We recommend having your heating system professionally checked each season — this can help identify potential problems before they become emergencies."

Firefighters responded around 2:15 p.m. Friday to the scene of the blaze at the Jerusalem Road home and saw smoke coming from the attic. Nobody was injured, as the three adults and young child inside had escaped before first responders arrived, Cohasset Fire Department said in a statement.

Records show the home was previously owned by Ana Walshe and her husband, Brian Walshe, before they sold it for $1.358 million in March 2022.

Ana Walshe was reported missing Wednesday by both her husband and employer simultaneously. She was last seen in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, according to the Cohasset Police Department.

At a press conference Friday morning, Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said Ana Walshe is believed to be in danger but noted there is “nothing to support anything suspicious or criminal” in connection with her disappearance. It is not abnormal for the woman, who is an executive at a property management company in Washington, D.C., to work long hours and not contact her family at home, which is why three days had passed before she was reported missing, he explained.

“Well, it’s not normal that she’s missing, so we automatically feel that she’s in dangerous by the mere fact that she’s missing,” Quigley said. “Other than that, there’s no evidence to support anything illegal.”

According to Quigley, Ana Walshe has a second home in D.C., where she was supposed to travel to in the early morning of Jan. 1 to handle an emergency on one of her properties. However, there was no record of her ever boarding her flight to the city from Boston Logan International Airport.

The husband of Ana Walshe said he was asleep when she left their Cohasset home and ordered a vehicle from a ride-share service to bring her to Logan. She reportedly had her license, cell phone and other personal belongings with her at the time, Quigley said.

The missing woman also had a flight scheduled for Jan. 3, but there are no records of her getting onto it, according to the police chief.

Saturday morning, authorities, including Massachusetts State Police and several local police departments, resumed their search for Ana Walshe, with law enforcement looking for the missing woman in the woods near 400 Chief Justice Cushing Highway in Cohasset and around her home.

“We have detectives working around the clock,” Quigley said at Friday’s press conference.

MassLive reporters Irene Rotondo and Tom Matthews contributed to this report.

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