GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) – Human remains have been found in the rubble of a four-story apartment building in Gloucester that was destroyed by fire last month.

Fire Chief Barry McKay says the remains have been turned over to the medical examiner for positive identification. Officials have been searching for the body of 70-year-old Robert Taylor since the Dec. 14 blaze that also destroyed a neighboring synagogue.

Taylor was a handyman who lived in the apartment building.

McKay says the remains were found either Friday or Saturday as state police assigned to the state fire marshal’s office, federal agents and volunteers searched through the debris.

The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined, but investigators believe it was accidental.

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Information from: Gloucester Daily Times, http://www.gloucestertimes.com

AP-ES-01-02-08 1142EST