MOUNTAIN HOME -- A Baxter County man police accused of setting fire to two of his residences Monday morning surrendered to Missouri authorities later in the day, according to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
Mark Mucha, 42, who has homes in Lakeview and Buffalo City, surrendered to the Ozark County sheriff's office in Gainesville, Mo., Montgomery said. Gainesville is about 25 miles northwest of Mountain Home.
Firefighters responded to a fire at Mucha's home on Hickory Flats Lane in Lakeview shortly after 3 a.m. Monday. A second fire burned his home at 5:19 a.m. at 97 Buffalo Rapids Lane in Buffalo City, a community along the White River in southwestern Baxter County.
Lakeview and Buffalo City are about 40 minutes apart.
Montgomery said officials are investigating both fires as arson.
One firefighter was injured while battling one of the blazes, the sheriff said.
Police began searching for Mucha on Monday morning. In a news release, authorities considered Mucha armed. "He could pose a danger to anyone attempting to contact him," the release said.
Montgomery said police have dealt with Mucha in the past. He is accused of threatening two Mountain Home business owners after he became angry with them.
Authorities will extradite Mucha back to Baxter County, where he faces arson charges. Montgomery said Mucha also may be charged in the injury to the firefighter and with insurance fraud if he intended to file claims on the burned houses.
State Desk on 05/16/2017