Residents of Upper Chelsea, N.S. say they feel closure after a remote cabin where a 16-year-old boy was confined and sexually assaulted three years ago burned to the ground on Sunday.

The boy was held captive by two men for eight days in the cabin, located about 130 kilometres southwest of Halifax, in September 2012 before eventually making his escape. He was wearing chains when he showed up at Terry Frauzel's door.

Frauzel told CTV Atlantic he’s relieved that the cabin is gone.

"I don't have to drive by there every day – some people do – and when I go by there I think about it and surely they do too. And who wants to be reminded of that every day?" said Frauzel.

Edwina Faulkner, who also lives nearby, said she too is glad the cabin was destroyed.

"Well, it's always on your mind. You know the poor kid. Yeah I'm glad it's gone," she said.

RCMP were called to the scene of the fire shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

They are treating the incident as suspicious, and investigation into its cause is underway.

The boy’s confinement and subsequent escape in 2012 sparked a Canada-wide manhunt for the two suspects.

David James LeBlanc was sentenced to 11 years in prison in June 2013, after being arrested in northern Ontario.

He pleaded guilty to kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, uttering threats and breach of conditions.

Police were also searching for Wayne Alan Cunningham, 31, whose body was found near the area where LeBlanc was arrested. He died of exposure and foul play was not suspected.

Another man, John Leonard MacKean, 65, was sentenced to two years in prison last year for sexually assaulting the 16-year-old.

A Nova Scotia court had heard that MacKean paid for a sexual encounter with the boy in an arrangement with one of the two men who were holding the boy captive.

The youth testified that he was blindfolded and chained to a bed during the ordeal.

While the fire rehashed horrific memories from three years ago, Frauzel said the focus should instead be how the youth is moving forward with his life.

"I wonder where he is now, but as long as he's doing well, fine things turned out OK," said Frauzel.

With a report from CTV Atlantic's Suzette Belliveau