The Kansas City Kansas Fire Department needs the public’s help searching for a woman who may have a connection to three fires set at grocery stores throughout KCK.
The fires happened at two Save-A-Lot stores at 28th and State and 21st and Metropolitan. The third happened at Happy Foods North at 55th and Leavenworth Road. All happened between noon and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.
"I heard sirens then we came out of City Fish and saw smoke on both sides coming out of Save-A-Lot,” said Contessa Mouton.
Mouton works at City Fish and More, across the street from the Save-A-Lot, at 28th and State. She says as soon as she saw flames coming out of the grocery store she started to wonder how a fire could have been started.
“I was like why is Save-A-Lot on fire? Like there’s nothing in there to catch on fire, they don’t cook in there,” said Mouton.
The KCK Fire Department released a picture of a woman on surveillance video and called her a person of interest.
The manager at Happy Foods North tells 41 Action News that surveillance video from inside the store shows the woman taking a box of tissue and lighting it on fire. She believes the fires were meant to be a distraction to shoplift.
Authorities are asking anyone with information can contact the Kansas City Kansas Police Department or the Kansas City Kansas Fire Departments Arson hotline at 913-573-5550
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Ali Hoxie can be reached at ali.hoxie@kshb.com
