The Tribune

HUMAN remains discovered in a home gutted by fire in Erin, Ontario, during the early hours of Wednesday morning are believed to be those of Alexya (Lexy) Solomon, 58, who moved to Canada from The Bahamas about 40 years ago.

Family in Nassau were awaiting the results from The Centre of Forensic Sciences, where the remains were sent for further analysis.

The smouldering ruins of the two storey-log home was discovered at 9:15am by the vet who arrived to keep an appointment for the horses on the farm. The heavy fog and rain and the fact that the house sits about 200 feet from the road, in a heavily wooded area, made an early detection difficult. When the vet arrived all that remained was smouldering ruins. The car was in the garage, but the truck that was parked near the home had “bubbled because of the intense heat.”

The vet set off the alarm with a 911 call.

There was no sign of the dog, which was believed to have perished in the flames as well as the birds that were in the home. The horses – four horses and a pony — whose stables were a distance from the home, were unharmed. They had not been fed that morning, but friends were now caring for them.

There was no sign of Ms Solomon. However, it was confirmed that she was at home that night, because a friend had talked with her over the phone at 8:30 pm.

Friends speculate that her wood stove on the first floor, located just below her bedroom, might have been the cause of the blaze. They remember helping to cut wood for the stove with the onset of winter. A friend said that police have said that with only smouldering foundations remaining the cause of the fire might never be known.

Ms Solomon, a riding enthusiast, left for Canada about 40 years ago to follow her equestrian dream. There she met her future husband, Robert Sharpe, a professional equestrian. They later held clinics at the Camperdown ranch in Nassau, where she used to ride before leaving for Canada.

In Canada, she was a fixture on the hunter/jumper A circuit for many years, beginning when she and her now ex-husband owned a farm in Hillsburgh.

Lexy Solomon was the daughter of the late Norman Solomon, and his first wife, the late Eleana Esfakis. She is survived by her two sons, Alexander Sharpe and Austin Wells, a 2-year-old granddaughter, Hilija; a sister, Andrya Shulte and two brothers, Sean and Spencer Solomon of Nassau.

Mrs Shulte left for Canada on Sunday.