As investigators spent a second day combing through the remains of a log house destroyed by fire, friends of the property’s lone resident continued to wonder about her whereabouts.

Authorities have not been able to determine Alexya Solomon’s whereabouts at any point since Wednesday morning, when the fire at her home on the 8th Line in Erin was first noticed. Her vehicle was parked outside the home.

The fire seems to have actually been sparked long before the 9:30 a.m. call to firefighters – but as the house sat about 200 metres back from the roadway, it wasn’t discovered until somebody showed up at the horse barn on the property.

Friends and relatives say Solomon, who many of them knew as Lexi, is an avid horse enthusiast who moved to Canada from the Bahamas more than 30 years ago.

“She was one of the kindest people (and) most amazing women,” says Sue Powell, a neighbour.

According to one friend, Solomon texted a mutual friend Tuesday night to say she was going to stay in and “spend a lovely night in front of the fire” in her fireplace.

Since the fire, Solomon’s friends have been caring for the five horses that live on her property.

Investigators will return to the scene on Friday.

With reporting by Marc Venema