This report was originally written and published on sister site Darienite.com by editor David Gurliacci
Darien residents called 911 at about 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 28, to report a fire in Woodland Park, and when police and firefighters arrived, they found an SUV engulfed in flames in a fire that was beginning to spread to nearby brush.
Darien police put out the fire in the leaves and brush surrounding the SUV, and firefighters from the Noroton Heights Fire Dept doused the flames that destroyed the SUV itself.
Police gave this account of the incident and investigation:
A Greenwich man, 52, told police that his 2008 Subaru Forester, which had been locked, was stolen from his driveway, perhaps at about midnight on Wednesday, Aug. 24, when he reported it missing, although he couldn’t be sure when it was taken. He still had the keys, he said.
The vehicle was found about 100 yards inside the entrance to the park, which is chained off. The SUV was probably driven around the chained part of the path, police said.
With arson suspected, police called in the town fire marshal, who asked for help from the state fire marshal. That, in turn, brought in state police to also work on the case, and Greenwich police are involved as well, a Darien police spokesman said.
Police do not know why the vehicle was stolen or why it was set on fire. As of Monday afternoon, police expected to search the wreck to try to find out more.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.