BURTON -- ***UPDATE***
A 16-year-old who was a person of interest in a barn fire that killed 10 horses has been released pending further investigation.
The fire happened last week at the Midnite Sun Training Center on Lippincott Road in Burton. The fire chief said three other horses were let out of the barn about 24 hours before the fire broke out.
***END UPDATE***
***UPDATE***
Officials with the Burton Fire Department say they are now questioning a person of interest in the barn fire case.
The person is a minor and is suspected in the two other barn fires
.***END UPDATE***
A barn fire kills 10 horses at a horse farm in Genesee County. It’s the third fire at the Midnite Sun Training Center in just one month. Now, horse owners have a lot questions.
Investigators aren't saying much. A state arson investigator is on scene because this fire is suspicious. There were 13 horses at the farm Tuesday night. Only three made it out alive, two of which belong to owner of the horse farm. That too has people wondering.
Marsha Christian can't believe her eyes. She lost three of her closest friends Tuesday night.
“Silent storm, P.F. Boniqua and H.R. Tango Silvergal,” Christian remembers. They're more than just animals, anyone with horses can tell you that,” she adds.
The same goes for the Smallwood family.
“We had four horses here. Vicky, Spirit, Mystique and Rocky,” says Jim Smallwood.
The Smallwood family also wants answers.
“Figure out who was responsible for this,” says Jim’s son, Kenny Smallwood.
13 horses were inside the barn, only three survived. The three survivors were let out to graze the night before. Two of those horses belong to the owner of the horse farm.
“I don't understand why there were let out,” says Christian.
“This is the third incident that's happened in six weeks,” says Jim Smallwood.
There’s still smoke damage left behind at the barn where the first fire broke out on January 18th. Detectives say there's a pattern.
“They happened all within a month's time and they happened early in the morning,” says Dave Powell, a detective with the Burton Police Department.
Horse owners say the three horses that survived shouldn't have been let out to graze because of last night's frost. The owners of the farm did not want to talk on camera. Fire officials say this is still under investigation. There are no suspects at this time.
