Shoe prints lead FBI to suspect man and woman of being involved in multiple New Mexico wildfires

Source: NBC News

Shoe prints lead FBI to suspect man and woman of being involved in multiple New Mexico wildfires

Investigators identified 16 human-caused fires on the Mescalero Apache Reservation near Ruidoso. They linked six of the fires to a couple, including the destructive Salt Fire.

July 22, 2024, 5:17 PM EDT
By Susan Baek

A federal search for a pair of Vans sneakers revealed a man and his girlfriend's may have been involved in at least six New Mexico wildfires, including the Salt Fire that burned nearly 8,000 acres of land, according to a court document.

In a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit, an FBI agent detailed an investigation into 16 suspicious fires on the Mescalero Apache Reservation near Ruidoso, New Mexico. The FBI began the investigation in early May, and several other federal agencies joined last month after the Salt Fire had burned more than 7,000 acres of the reservation's forests.

Investigators determined all 16 fires to be "human-caused." The fires occurred from May 3 to June 18 in a 25-square-mile area.

The Salt Fire was the most destructive of the 16, and investigators noted that it had diverted resources away from the South Fork Fire, a naturally caused fire that burned over 1,400 structures and killed two people. The Salt Fire started about 2 hours after the South Fork was reported.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/shoe-prints-lead-fbi-suspect-man-woman-involved-multiple-new-mexico-wi-rcna163087