A screen shot from video surveillance footage of an arson suspect as seen on Sept. 25, 2017, immediately following the commission of the alleged incident in Kelowna.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/RCMP
September 26, 2017 - 12:15 PM
KELOWNA – RCMP say they have footage of a man who may be behind several of the suspicious fires in Kelowna this summer.
Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says the suspect's latest fire was set yesterday, Sept. 25, around 11 a.m.
“The Kelowna RCMP received several calls from the public, each to report witnessing a male allegedly igniting a fire at the corner of Springfield Road and Burtch Road in Kelowna,” O’Donaghey says in a media release. “The suspect reportedly fled east along Springfield Road, until he cut through a business parking lot on the south side of the roadway and into an adjacent orchard.”
His image was captured on video surveillance and police are releasing it to the public in hopes someone has information that could help.
Investigators believe the fire may be related to a handful of other fires reported during the past couple weeks in Kelowna, O’Donaghey says.
Shortly after 4 a.m. Sept. 14, a stack of wooden pallets were set on fire behind a business in the 1500 block of Gordon Drive. The duplex next door was also damaged and an unidentified man was seen in the area prior to the fire.
Shortly before 3 a.m. five days later, Sept. 19, RCMP responded to a pair of dumpster fires in the rear parking lot of a business in the 1800 block of Baron Road.
Two days after that, on Sept. 21, just before noon, RCMP received a report of an apparent overnight arson discovered outside a business located in the 1500 block of Banks Road.
“The complainants suspected that the fire may have been lit by a transient individual,” O’Donaghey says.
And that same day a small amount of debris was set on fire on the sidewalk in front of a business in the 2300 block of Highway 97 North.
O’Donaghey says a passerby put it out.
The suspect is a Caucasian male, approximately 5’7" tall and 180 lbs., with brown hair and a brown goatee. He wore a grey hoodie, dark coloured pants, dark running shoes and sunglasses. He was carrying a stick.
Anyone with any information on any of the above arsons is asked to contact the Const. Kevin Hamilton of the Kelowna RCMP General Investigations Section at 250-470-6302. Or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, leaving a tip online at www.crimestoppers.net or by texting your tip to CRIMES (274637) ktown.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2017