Suspect Wanted In Arsons In Renton, Tukwila, Skyway Arrested

RENTON, WA - A suspect wanted in a string of arson fires across Renton, Tukwila, and the Skyway area south of Seattle was arrested Wednesday, according to the King County Sheriff's Office. The 40-year-old man was arrested in an encampment in a wooded area south of Seattle. He was tracked to that location after allegedly stealing a computer from a BNSF Railway facility in Tukwila along the Duwamish River.

On Tuesday evening, police were searching the Skyway area from the air after someone spotted a man lighting some brush on fire near railroad tracks along Beacon Coal Mine Road. Police returned to the area Wednesday morning to resume the search, and were contacted by BNSF about the missing computer. Police followed the computer's GPS signal to the camp, where they found the suspect.

The suspect, who is from Arkansas, is thought to have set at least seven fires across the area this summer. Most of the fires were set along Beacon Cole Mine Road and south to I-405. Two fires were set at the Rabanco facility in Renton earlier this week, plus two more nearby in Tukwila. The man is also suspected of lighting an abandoned semitrailer on fire last week in Skyway.

In mid-August, a home along Beacon Coal Mine Road was burned to the ground, and is also among the fires linked to the suspect.

In July, three trailer homes were destroyed at a trailer park along Beacon Coal Mine Road, but King County Sheriff Sgt. Cindi West said investigators have not connected the suspect to that incident.

According to King County Jail records, the suspect is being held on five counts of investigation of arson, and on investigation of possession of stolen property.

Image via Neal McNamara/Patch.com