Ithaca police officers are searching for a woman who witnesses say was looking into the windows of a Volvo station wagon before it became engulfed in flames Thursday.
The officers, who responded to a call at about 8:29 a.m. Thursday morning, said when they arrived at the intersection of West State Street and South Corn Street, they saw the station wagon engulfed in flames. The Ithaca Fire Department extinguished the fire, but “the vehicle was a total loss,” police said.
Just before the fire started, a woman of average height with long, dark hair was standing near the vehicle and looking into its windows, witnesses told police. The woman allegedly walked away after the station wagon began burning.
The IFD said the origin and cause of the fire were “suspicious in nature.” It may have been arson, it said.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident and search for the woman.
Original Author: Akane Otani