Suspects setting playground on fire caught on camera

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (WANE) – Officials in Columbia City are searching for two individuals who set fire to a piece of equipment in the city’s ADA-friendly playground late Saturday night, damaging it.

The city’s parks department posted photos of the vandalism to its Facebook page.Firefighters were called around 11:30 p.m. Saturday to Every Kids Dreamland in Columbia City on a report of a fire there. Crews arrived to find a small fire burning on a raise plastic portion of the playground, which was quickly extinguished.

Park Director Mark Green told NewsChannel 15 on Monday that cameras recently installed at the park captured images of two individuals behind the fire. The images show a young short-haired male in pants and a striped shirt, and another individual with longer hair, pants and a short-sleeved shirt.

The images show the individuals as the fire is burning.

Green said the city is talking with the local schools to identify the individuals captured in the surveillance footage.

Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to call the parks department at (260) 248-5180 or the Columbia City Police Department.