Canadian woman’s search for missing California couple comes to difficult end

LEWISPORTE, N.L. – A Newfoundland woman who launched a desperate bid to find family members missing thousands of kilometres away in a fire-ravaged California town says the search has come to a difficult end.

Megan Janes says her aunt and uncle, Paradise residents Paula and Randy Dodge, are no longer missing but also "no longer with us."

In a post on Twitter, she says her family has "found our answer" and asks for prayers as they get through this "very difficult time."

Janes adds that her "heart is quite heavy" but that "God will see us through."

The couple were among hundreds of people reported missing after a massive blaze, called the Camp Fire, levelled the Northern California town.

Nearly 8,800 homes were destroyed when flames hit Paradise, killing at least 56 people in the state's deadliest wildfire. At least 130 people are still missing.