Two Arsons, Burglaries Hit Clark County

Two Arsons, Burglaries Hit Clark County
By Mike Scott

A well-known landmark on Highway 81 north of Kahoka went up in smoke Sunday morning, the victim of an apparent arson.  It was the second suspicious fire of a vacant home in the area in the past two weeks.
The fire at the old house of Vernon and Carolyn Edlen was reported shortly before 7:00AM Sunday morning.  The two-story home, which had been built by Carolyn’s grandfather in 1912, was completely destroyed.  Firefighters from the Clark County Rural, Wayland and Revere Fire Departments responded. A week earlier, a vacant house owned by Jay Wilson on Rt. CC was burned.
According to Clark County Sheriff Roy Gilbert, there have been a number of burglaries reported in the area.  In fact, the Edlen house was burglarized sometime over the weekend of August 25-26th.
“It’s happening on Saturday nights,” said Gilbert.  “The neighbors in that area are all watching, but it’s a big area to cover.”
“We have some suspects in Clark and Van Buren counties,” said Gilbert.  “Two of them have previous convictions for burglary and arson.
The incidents are under investigation by the Clark County Sheriff’s Department and the Missouri Division of Fire  Safety. 
Anyone with information is asked to call the Clark County Sheriff’s office at 660-727-2911.  The fire marshall’s office is also offering a reward of up to $5000 for information.  The state’s arson hotline is 1-800-39-ARSON.