Police Say Woman Tried to Light Tent on Fire With Mother and Daughter Inside
A mother and daughter staying in a tent in Eugene, Oregon, called 911 late Thursday after hearing what sounded like a lighter clicking and then seeing smoke in a corner of the tent.
The tent never burst into flames. But when officers arrived on West Sixth Avenue, they found multiple holes in the corner that appeared to have been melted, Eugene Police said.
The 911 call came at about 11:20 p.m. on Sept. 17. The daughter told police she first heard the clicking sound and then noticed smoke moments later.
What happened outside the tent was also captured from another angle. Officers located surveillance footage from a nearby business showing a person approaching the tent, crouching near one corner, then quickly walking away.
Caught Nearby
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Police described the person in the video as wearing a camouflage hoodie with the hood up and white writing on the back.
Officers soon found Tabitha Muller nearby. Police said she was wearing the same clothing seen in the surveillance footage.
She was also holding a large grill lighter, according to the department.
Police arrested Muller and lodged her at the Lane County Jail for attempted first-degree arson. The department’s public account does not say that the tent itself caught fire or identify any injuries to the mother or daughter.
The Arrest
Eugene Police described the case as an attempted first-degree arson arrest. GH did not independently obtain a charging document establishing that prosecutors had formally filed that charge as of Friday.
Muller is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Police did not identify the mother or daughter in the department’s account.
