Arsonist is back in business, mayor says
Reward increases to $50,000
WINCHESTER — North Dundas Township Mayor Alvin Runnalls says an arsonist is back in business as there are two unexplained fires so far this year. His lcoal council increased the reward from $25,000 to $50,000 to catch the culprit.
Another barn fire April 30 near Ingleside is under investigation.
Since June last year, there have been 22 unexplained fires in a small area of eastern Ontario, surrounding Winchester, that includes the townships of North and South Dundas, North Stormont and Osgoode, Runnells said. He said there were 20 unexplained fires last year but they stopped when a reward was announced last October, Runnalls said.
• The latest unexplained fire was Russell and Doreen Marcellus’s Winchester-area barn that was destroyed Sunday, April 15 on County Road 3. It was shortly after midnight when a passerby knocked on a neighbour’s door after seeing the flames. The barn had no electrical power and Doreen Marcellus, 81, said the barn had not been used for 22 years. Her husband, who was born and raised on the property, lives in a nearby nursing home.
• On March 21, Jos and Francine Melenhorst’s Nesbitt Road farm, near Winchester, was destroyed, killing 110 cows, while they were in Saskatchewan.
Runnalls has a personal interest in these cases. He has a barn on his property and "there have been four fires within a mile of us."
The Marcellus fire was just down the road, he said, adding, "We’ve got a couple of dogs so that gives us a little confidence. Police are putting a lot of resources into this. We know that. They’re not telling us everything and for good reason."
He added that farmers in the area are turning up their vigilance a notch and the arsonist will be caught. "Somebody is going to make a mistake," he said.
About four years ago, a rash of barn fires occurred in Lanark County. Police caught the arsonist, a former volunteer firefighter.
The police phone tip line is 1-866-799-8477.