NILES — The Niles Police Department is continuing an investigation into the deaths of two individuals who were found dead in a Niles home Wednesday night.

Niles Police Department Lt. Detective Rick Krueger said both bodies will have undergone an autopsy by Saturday and that more answers should be available at that time. Krueger said he could not give out the names, ages or relationship of the victims until the next of kin has been notified.

“It is a really tragic event and we are in the process of making contact with different family members who are not in town,” Krueger said. “Once we get the autopsies done, we can release all the information.”

Authorities were called to investigate the home at 621 Woodruff St. at 5:42 p.m. Wednesday, after a concerned neighbor reported that she had not seen the individuals inside the home in a couple of days.

When police arrived, the home was secure, so they forced entry through the front door. In the living room, they found the two victims deceased.

Krueger said while there was electricity to the house, the furnace was not working and it was below 30 degrees in the residence. He also said authorities found an electric heater, which was also not working.

With temperatures dipping below zero throughout the week, officials say conditions without heat could easily have become brutal. While Krueger said nothing can be confirmed until the autopsies, authorities suspect that the lack of heat was a factor in the individuals’ death.

Although foul play is not suspected, police continue to seek more answers.

“Nothing seemed violent or out of place or suspicious,” Krueger said. “It was suspicious because we have to people expired … [it] is tragic.”

Police do not know at this time how long the victims have been deceased, but Krueger said this is one of the answers they are expecting to come by in the next couple of days.

More information will be released with the pending investigation.