A 25-year-old man has been charged following more than fifteen hay bale and grass fires over the past month in the Macklin/Unity areas.
RCMP officers responded to a hay bale fire near Macklin and Evesham on July 31st, one of several that occurred between July 28th and August 25. Investigators analyzed evidence, including surveillance video. Logan Sieben from Macklin is charged with arson causing mischief, arson with intend to defraud and theft under $5,000. He is scheduled to appear in Unity Provincial Court on November 18th.
Corporal Christopher Neufeld of the Unity RCMP says “these fires resulted in property loss and greatly impacted our local farmers.”
The Macklin Fire Departments assisted with this ongoing investigation and its chief released the following message on Facebook.
To help prevent being a victim of these types of property crimes, the RCMP advise farmers and land owners to transport hay bales to locations where they can be monitored, if possible, and report any suspicious people or activities to police as soon as possible.