FREEDOM, Ind. (August 6, 2015)– Owen County residents are offering their support after family members died in a house fire.
The fire started at the home of Dan and Joy Reynolds around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning. The couple, who had recently wed, and Joy Reynolds’ 11-year-old son Bailey Little were all home at the time. Wednesday was Little’s first day of school.
Despite all three getting out of the home, Dan and Bailey succumbed to their injuries Thursday. Joy died early Friday morning, officials at Eskenazi Hospital said.
A cause of the fire is still under investigation. Franklin Township Volunteer Community Fire Department Chief Dale Walker said the house did not appear to have working smoke detectors.
Little was a longtime little league baseball player at the Owen Valley Sports Complex. He had recently joined a traveling team out of Bloomington.
“Bailey is a name that, if you’re around here, you know Bailey Little,” complex President Travis Newport said.
Little and his mom were the kind of people you couldn’t help but know, Newport and other friends said. They described Little as a happy, outgoing kid who always had a smile on his face and Reynolds as a proud mom who was always loudly cheering on her son.
“When you think of Bailey, he was just somebody that everybody liked and he was a good player in baseball. … It was pretty hard to take,” Newport said.
The family had just moved into their new home within the past couple of weeks. Friend Jason Douglas was at the scene Thursday, after he heard what happened and couldn’t believe the news.
“I was hoping that somebody was wrong,” Douglas said.
He remembered Joy Reynolds as a woman who was friendly to a fault.
“It didn’t matter who you were, she’d talk to you,” Douglas said.
As for Bailey, he preferred to remember his smile and positive attitude, best displayed in a photo when the team won a championship a couple years ago.
“He was an all-around good kid. Everybody loved him. He was just always happy,” Douglas said.
Douglas said the family was active in church and faithful in their lives. Now, he and others in Owen County are holding onto faith as they mourn the loss.
“Don’t take life for granted. I mean you never know, any day could be your last day,” Douglas said.
“We really care a lot about them and it’s a big tragedy. We just want to help out any way we can,” Newport said.
The complex started a fund for funeral expenses at the Owen County State Bank, under the Bailey Little Fund. Donations are also being accepted online at the link here and also at the link here.
There will be a candlelight vigil for the family at 9 p.m. on Friday, at the Owen Valley Sports Complex on Field 8.
