Three Roanoke residents were displaced after a fire in the 2700 block of Cedarhust Avenue Northwest on Wednesday morning.

No one was at the house, and a neighbor placed a 911 call that was received at 10:33 a.m. Fire crews found smoke coming from the chimney. They quickly extinguished a fire in the basement.

Damage is estimated at about $15,000. There were no injuries to civilians, fire crews or the two dogs found in the house.

Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said Wednesday afternoon that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

-- Lerone Graham

Boy, 4, drowns in above-ground pool in Bedford County

A 4-year-old boy drowned Tuesday at the house of a relative in Moneta, an investigator of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office said.

Lt. Kyle Williams said the boy fell into an above-ground inflatable pool at a house in the 3000 block of Horseshoe Bend Road. Rescue crews performed CPR before the boy was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Williams said.

An investigation of the incident by the Bedford County Sheriff's Office is under way.

-- Lerone Graham

Lottery ticket worth $52,000 still unclaimed

A $52,000 winning lottery ticket sold at a Roanoke Kroger store remains unclaimed with a deadline looming.

According to the Virginia Lottery, the Win for Life game ticket was sold on Jan. 24 at the Town Square Kroger on Rutgers Street Northwest.

Such winning tickets expire after 180 days, based on lottery rules. That means the $52,000 Roanoke ticket will be worth nothing more than the paper it's printed on as of 5 p.m. July 24.

The winning numbers for the Jan. 24 drawing were 1-2-13-34-35-37, and the Free Ball number was 21. The Roanoke ticket matched five of the six numbers and the Free Ball.

-- The Roanoke Times