An east Cobb County man who was the subject of an hours-long search Wednesday morning set his condominium on fire, officials said.
“The fire has been ruled arson,” Cobb fire Lt. Dan Dupree told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Matthew Olson, 31, was arrested on a charge of arson in the first degree.
It wasn’t the fire in the 4000 block of Audubon Drive that first caught officials’ attention. It was a 911 call they received about 3:45 a.m. from Olson’s family members, Dupree said.
In a series of texts to relatives, Olson made suicidal threats, the family told the dispatcher. Olson, who owns the condo with his wife, was home alone at the time, the relatives said.
Emergency officials went to Olson’s condo and saw a “ large glow” over the home, Dupree said. Flames had spread to other units in the four-unit building. While all the residents in the other units were able to escape without injury, Olson could not be found. Authorities spent hours looking for him.
They talked to neighbors who heard a loud boom, glass breaking and other noises coming from the condo, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Cobb police issued a lookout for Olson’s car, and an officer spotted it in the area of Johnson Ferry Road and Woodlawn Drive at some point Wednesday morning. Olson was taken into custody after that.
It was unclear Wednesday afternoon why Olson started the fire, Dupree said.
“He’s being interviewed right now, so maybe that will come out,” he said.
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