Austell Police Seek Woman For Her Part in Recent Fire

Austell police have arrested two men on criminal damage charges in connection with a Feb. 20 fire, which burned about an acre of the Norfolk Southern Railroad’s property. They also have an arrest warrant for a woman thought to have started the grass fire, according to the warrant.

Travis Hames of Powder Springs and Ricky Womack of Douglasville, both 43, were arrested on Feb. 25 on charges of criminal damage.

Hames told Austell police that he was with Bonnie Bloedow scouting deer-hunting locations when his truck became stuck in the mud. At that point, Bloedow called her friend, Ricky Womack, to help them remove the truck, Hames said to the police.

Bloedow, according to statements from Hames and Womack, started a fire accidentally with her cigarette.

According to Austell police reports, the two Norfolk Southern Railroad employees noticed smoke coming from the back of the property and when they went to investigate it, they saw a white Ford truck in a ditch next to a small fire. They also said they saw two men run into the woods nearby and a woman who was crying and apologizing.

As the fire grew bigger, the two witnesses said they attempted to pull Bloedow over the fence, but could not because she was drunk. At that point, they left to get help and call the fire department, according to the reports.

When the railroad employees returned, they said they saw the two men and the woman drove away in their trucks.

According to booking data from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office, Womack was released on $10,000 bond on Tuesday around 1:30 a.m. Hames remains in custody.