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Brush Fire Leads Police to Stolen Car
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Brush Fire Leads Police to Stolen Car

Police Search For Car Thief and Possible Arsonist

Written by KEY News Staff

Story Created: Feb 12, 2012 at 6:18 PM PDT

Story Updated: Feb 12, 2012 at 11:00 PM PDT

Police in Santa Barbara are searching for the suspect or suspects involved in a car theft and possible arson case. The car was stolen outside a home on Terrace Road, on the Mesa in Santa Barbara sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Fire officials discovered it hours later, just miles away, engulfed in flames.

Deputy Sheriff Thomas Green with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department was one of the first to arrive on scene.

"Flames could be seen actually over near the K-mart shopping center."

Fire fighters were called to a brush fire in a creek bed near Cathedral Oaks and Carlo roads in Goleta, just after 11 o'clock Sunday morning.

They were not expecting what they found instead.

"We approached the scene and realized it was a fully involved vehicle," Captain Ron Hazard with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department explains, "we had to attack the fire a little differently, than normal because we weren't wearing heat protection."

Hours earlier, a resident reported the car stolen. Sheriff's deputies say this crime is unlike most others they respond to.

"Vehicles are usually recovered a short time later. It is unusual for it to be set fire in my experience," says Green.

At this time, no witnesses have come forward. Now the Santa Barbara County Fire Arson Investigation team is hoping to find clues that will help them solve this crime, somewhere in the charred remains of the car.

"It was just burning when we got here. It's still a mystery," says Hazard.

Police in Santa Barbara are searching for the person or people involved in the crime. If you have any information, you can call Crime Stoppers at (877) 800-9100.
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