The Anson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fire that destroyed Long Pine Baptist Church, located on Long Pine Church Road, south of Wadesboro.

The fire was reported at 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 13, by a passing motorist. According to the motorist, the structure had already burned to the ground at that time.

Fire department officials arrived roughly 20 minutes later, but there was little to save, Detective Steve Erdmanczyk with the Anson County Sheriff's Office said.

The Gulledge Fire Department responded but could do little. The church is located in a very rural section of the county.

Anson County Sheriff Tommy Allen said that he had requested that the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assist in the investigation to help determine the cause and origin of the fire.

“The structure was totally burned down to the foundation," Allen said. "This was a very old building and it was a very hot fire. We want to make sure we utilize every effort in determining the cause of this fire, if at all possible.”

Witnesses told investigators that a church member had been at the church until about 10 p.m. the night before, cleaning up. Everything had appeared fine when that person left the premises.

The cause of the fire is still unknown.