EDGEWATER, Fla. --
Police arrested a suspect for setting 19 brush fires across the city of Edgewater, but the suspected arsonist turned out to be a 15-year-old boy.
All the fires happened in the past month. It was happening so often, Edgewater started an arson task force. It put up posters all over one neighborhood and especially at the entrance to trails where the fires kept starting.
It was happening every single weekend in spots not more than a few hundred feet apart. Most stayed small, but there were a lot of them in clusters off trails in the last 30 days, as many as 19.
There was a very short period of time this was incurring in our wooded areas, and very close to our residential areas, said Sgt. Daniel Blazi, Edgewater Police Department.
Police started looking at pictures taken of residents out watching firefighters work. In a couple of photos, they noticed the same boy. Now, police say, 15-year-old Keith Dyer admitted to setting three of the fires, a confession his father questioned Monday.
Did he give you any explanation for what was happening? WFTV reporter Jason Allen asked Al Dyer.
Nope. But it don't think he they got a confession out of him without a guardian being there, Dyer replied.
Dyer said nearly everyone in the neighborhood was out watching the fires, not just his son. Police said there's a strong possibility Dyer was not the only one involved with starting the fires.
There was a string of unexplained fires in the same area last year. One burned nearly 20 acres. Even with the arrest, there was another unexplained fire a few blocks away Sunday that a fire marshal was investigating Monday.
Police do not believe Dyer was traveling out of the area starting any fires and haven't been in contact with anyone investigating fires in Palm Bay.
Palm Bay police don't think the suspect in the Edgewater fires is the same arsonist they are looking for. There have been dozens of fires there since November. The fire marshal believes one person has started all 50 fires across the city. Police there have been on extra patrols around the city, but so far they have not caught any suspects.
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