Eyewitness describes suspicious encounter that helped launch Washington wildfire arson probe
A Washington grandfather said a stranger lingering near a dead-end road where almost nobody goes immediately caught his attention – moments before smoke began rising from the same stretch of railroad tracks and a devastating wildfire erupted.Paul Child was driving his grandson to pick up a friend Saturday when he noticed a bald man standing near the railroad tracks along West Euclid Road and staring into the tree line."I really didn’t think anything of it at that point," Child told Fox News Digital.SPENCER PRATT REACTS TO SPOKANE DEVASTATION WITH BLUNT WILDFIRE WARNING AND MESSAGE OF FAITHAbout 10 minutes later, Child drove back along the same road and noticed the man was still there."This time he was kind of bent over and looked like he was doing something in the brush or the bushes and the grass and the trees," Child said. "When he saw us, then he kind of stood up and was acting kind of nervous."Even Child’s grandson sensed something was off."My grandson said, ‘What’s he doing?’" Child said.The family returned to their home and minutes later, Child’s daughter, Ana Dillon, glanced toward the same stretch of railroad tracks."I just happened to look up and saw a huge cloud of white smoke, then black smoke," Dillon told Fox News Digital.Child immediately connected the smoke to the stranger he had seen lingering near the tree line."The first thing I thought was, ‘That SOB started the fire,’" Child alleged.MYSTERY STRANGER VANISHES AFTER FAMILY SAYS FRANTIC WARNING SAVED THEIR LIVES DURING DEVASTATING HOUSE FIREChild called 911 and tried to reach the only other homeowner on the dead-end stretch of road.
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A Washington grandfather said a stranger lingering near a dead-end road where almost nobody goes immediately caught his attention – moments before smoke began rising from the same stretch of railroad tracks and a devastating wildfire erupted.Paul Child was driving his grandson to pick up a friend Saturday when he noticed a bald man standing near the railroad tracks along West Euclid Road and staring into the tree line."I really didn’t think anything of it at that point," Child told Fox News Digital.SPENCER PRATT REACTS TO SPOKANE DEVASTATION WITH BLUNT WILDFIRE WARNING AND MESSAGE OF FAITHAbout 10 minutes later, Child drove back along the same road and noticed the man was still there."This time he was kind of bent over and looked like he was doing something in the brush or the bushes and the grass and the trees," Child said. "When he saw us, then he kind of stood up and was acting kind of nervous."Even Child’s grandson sensed something was off."My grandson said, ‘What’s he doing?’" Child said.The family returned to their home and minutes later, Child’s daughter, Ana Dillon, glanced toward the same stretch of railroad tracks."I just happened to look up and saw a huge cloud of white smoke, then black smoke," Dillon told Fox News Digital.Child immediately connected the smoke to the stranger he had seen lingering near the tree line."The first thing I thought was, ‘That SOB started the fire,’" Child alleged.MYSTERY STRANGER VANISHES AFTER FAMILY SAYS FRANTIC WARNING SAVED THEIR LIVES DURING DEVASTATING HOUSE FIREChild called 911 and tried to reach the only other homeowner on the dead-end stretch of road. The neighbor was not home, but Child reached him by phone and warned that a wildfire was moving toward the property, where workers were inside a shop behind the house."We drove down there and notified that person and told him maybe he should leave," Child said.By then, firefighters had begun to arrive as flames spread across the dry grasslands and the family hurried to evacuate."The fire was coming toward us, so we packed up everything, everyone and animals," Dillon said.PALISADES FIRE SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY DRIVEN BY 'SOCIETAL REVENGE,' BEHAVIORAL ANALYST TESTIFIES IN COURTChild said the family fled their nearly 17-acre property with five dogs and two cats, later flagging down an Airway Heights police officer and describing the man he had seen as a bald white male wearing a green T-shirt and backpack, court records show.He also told officers where the man had been standing before smoke began rising from the area. Spokane County sheriff’s deputies soon detained a man matching the description.Child, his grandson and the grandson’s friend then traveled with an Airway Heights police officer to where deputies were holding the suspect.
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- A Washington grandfather said a stranger lingering near a dead-end road where almost nobody goes immediately caught his attention – moments before smoke began rising from the same stretch of railroad tracks and a devastating wildfire erupted.Paul Child was driving his grandson to pick up a friend Saturday when he noticed a bald man standing near the railroad tracks along West Euclid Road and staring into the tree line."I really didn’t think anything of it at that point," Child told Fox News Digital.SPENCER PRATT REACTS TO SPOKANE DEVASTATION WITH BLUNT WILDFIRE WARNING AND MESSAGE OF FAITHAbout 10 minutes later, Child drove back along the same road and noticed the man was still there."This time he was kind of bent over and looked like he was doing something in the brush or the bushes and the grass and the trees," Child said. "When he saw us, then he kind of stood up and was acting kind of nervous."Even Child’s grandson sensed something was off."My grandson said, ‘What’s he doing?’" Child said.The family returned to their home and minutes later, Child’s daughter, Ana Dillon, glanced toward the same stretch of railroad tracks."I just happened to look up and saw a huge cloud of white smoke, then black smoke," Dillon told Fox News Digital.Child immediately connected the smoke to the stranger he had seen lingering near the tree line."The first thing I thought was, ‘That SOB started the fire,’" Child alleged.MYSTERY STRANGER VANISHES AFTER FAMILY SAYS FRANTIC WARNING SAVED THEIR LIVES DURING DEVASTATING HOUSE FIREChild called 911 and tried to reach the only other homeowner on the dead-end stretch of road.
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Eyewitness describes suspicious encounter that helped launch Washington wildfire arson probe
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