NEAR POLLOCK, MO. -- A northeast Missouri home burned to the ground before anyone even knew it was on fire.

The home, owned by Ed Cunningham, is located on Fulton Drive two miles east of Pollock.

Sullivan County Sheriff Roger Smiley told KTVO no one lived in the house because they had moved to Unionville.

The fire was discovered around 2:30 p.m. Monday by a man checking cattle nearby.

"The fire department never was contacted. There never was a 911 call or anything of that nature about a fire… Nobody saw the fire," said Smiley.

Milan Rural Fire Chief Rick Gardner said the cause of the fire has been ruled "undetermined" because damage was too severe to tell what started it.

Smiley believes the blaze started in the early morning hours Monday.

He speculates that fog may have kept it from being discovered.  

The owner told the sheriff electricity was the only utility in the home.

The water and propane had been shut off.

The fire remains under investigation.