Arson ruled cause of Little Opry fire

NASHVILLE, Ind. (WISH) - Federal, state, and local investigators announced Monday that arson caused a fire that destroyed The Little Nashville Opry concert hall in southern Indiana's Brown County.

The National Response Team from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives concentrated on the stage area during their investigation. They collected evidence, took pictures even used a chemical sniffing dog.

“It was not an accident this fire was intentionally set,” said Wayne Dixie, special agent in charge at the ATF Indianapolis field office.

But so far, no suspects have been named.

On September 19, a neighbor captured the intensity of the fire at the 28,000 square foot concert venue. Sixty-five firefighters fought the flames for hours. By 1:30 a.m. on Sunday the fire was out, but not before destroying the Nashville Landmark.

Since then 24-Hour News 8 learned that the Opry was operating without and entertainment license. The company that owns the Opry, Little Nashville Enterprises, and its owner Esther Hamilton, owe more than $68,000 in back taxes on the Opr. And Jim Bowyer, Opry manager and co-owner, admitted to 24-Hour News 8 he never paid taxes on the property.

24-Hour News 8 also confirmed that fire destroyed two of Bowyer’s homes in Morgan County, and two other fires in Brown County destroyed property owned by Hamilton. At the time, investigators said the cause of those fires was undetermined.

“No, we won’t be reinvestigating the old fires. We have the fire reports from the fire departments that were there on the scene at that time. But given that they were several years ago. There won’t be any additional investigation in those fires," said Detective Scott Southerland of the Brown County Sheriff's Department.

24-Hour News 8’s Gene Rodriguez questioned Southerland, “In knowing what happened then, do you see any similarities in those two fires and this current fire?”

“That goes into the area that we are not going to be able to talk about because that is part of the on-going investigation,” replied Southerland.

Rodriguez then asked, “Are you also in contact with Morgan County officials as well regarding some fires there as well?”

"Yes, we have talked to Morgan County also,” said Southerland.

Investigators still need the public’s help.

A confidential hotline has been set up for the public to call with any information (812) 988 6620. Investigators are especially interested in what happened between 10:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. the night the fire was set.

While federal, state and local investigators finished their evidence collection at the scene. Now, the insurance company is conducting their own investigation at The Little Nashville Opry.

24-Hour News 8 learned the insurance company is now the one paying for round the clock security by the Brown County Sheriff’s Department at The Little Nashville Opry, which is now considered a crime scene.

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The Little Nashville Opry has cancelled all it's shows for the rest of the season due to the fire. If you had plans to attend an event and would like a ticket refund click here.