A Baxter County arson suspect has turned himself in. According the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office, 42-year-old Mark Mucha surrendered to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department in Gainesville Monday afternoon, and he will be extradited to Baxter County to face felony arson charges.
Firefighters responded to the scenes of two separate structure fires in the early morning hours Monday, one in Lakeview and the other in the White River Valley in the Buford area, and both are being investigated as potential arson. Mucha is listed as the owner of both residences. Although initial reports at the scene indicated there may have been someone inside the Lakeview residence, there have been no reports of any injuries.
According to Grover Township Fire Chief and Baxter County Office of Emergency Management Director Jim Sierzchula, the Grover Township Fire Department responded to the first fire at approximately 3:45 Monday morning. It was located at 952 Hickory Flats Lane, Northwest of Leisure Hills, and was fully involved when Sierzchula, who was first on the scene, arrived.
He says initial investigation suggests arson as the cause. There were file cabinets completely opened, suspected to be intentionally burned and possibly used as a type of accelerant.
The Buford Volunteer Fire Department, along with all mutual aid personnel, were paged out to the other structure fire at approximately 5:19 Monday morning. The residence is located at 97 Buffalo Rapids Lane, in the Buffalo City area. The blaze there was put out around 9:37 Monday morning.
The majority of Grover firefighters returned to quarters at approximately 5:30 Monday morning with two ambulances dispatched to the scene around that time. Firefighters were dispatched back to the area at approximately 7:51 Monday morning as a portion of the fire rekindled. It was eventually put back out and the investigation continues.
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