LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — More than a year after a camper fire killed a 37-year-old mother in Lincoln County, her sister says she still does not have the answers she deserves — and has taken it upon herself to find them.
Megan Milburn died in the fire in December 2024. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said another person was inside the camper at the time but escaped. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department told LEX 18 last year that foul play was not suspected, but few updates in the case have been made public since then.
Milburn's sister, Emma Clines, said she has spent the past year investigating the case herself, balancing grief with growing frustration.
"I pack her folder with me. I pack copies of it in case I run into someone that could help me. It is very frustrating because I've had to educate myself on law and things related to death investigations. I've had to look at pictures that I'll never unsee," Clines said.
Friends and family of Milburn have rallied around Clines, gathering beneath a billboard in Stanford on Monday as a visible show of support. Clines has also built a growing online following as she continues pushing for answers.
Clines said she believes investigators have not made the case a priority and suspects her sister's struggles with addiction may have contributed to the lack of urgency.
"They have gotten a couple of things done and I'm appreciative of that. I'm very thankful for the things that they've done, but I do feel like it's on the back burner. It's not a priority whatsoever," Clines said.
She stressed, however, that her sister's life mattered.
"She's a priority to me. She might not have been to them, but to her son, and to me and my dad, my grandparents. I mean she was everything to us and she's gone," Clines said.
Clines said she wants answers to basic questions about the investigation — including the cause of the fire, whether neighbors were interviewed, whether security video was obtained, and what investigators learned from the other person inside the camper the night Milburn died. She said those steps should have been taken immediately and thoroughly.
While Clines said she hopes authorities are right that foul play was not involved, she said she cannot be certain without more information.
"They want me to prove that the fire was not an accident, but I want them to prove that the fire was an accident," Clines said.
Clines said she will not stop pushing for answers. Anyone with information about Milburn's death is urged to come forward.
