The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

September 3, 2010

Fire victim was at scene of arson

Officials not saying why Amee Thiel was at Mankato fire two days before Henderson fire

By Dan Nienaber Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — A teen who died in a house fire at her home in Henderson was also at the scene of a Mankato fire two days earlier, which is now being investigated as an arson.

After investigating the Aug. 27 fire at 145 Lynn Lane in Mankato, investigators concluded there is a high probability it was an arson, said Trudy Kunkel, Mankato Department of Public Safety acting deputy director.

“We eliminated all the possible ignition sources,” she said Friday. “That’s why we think it was started by someone using matches or a lighter.”

Kunkel also confirmed that Amee Lee Thiel, 17, was at the mobile home when firefighters arrived. The mobile home, which was owned by Tisha Kenning, was destroyed as a result of the fire.

The firefighters who responded found smoke coming from a bedroom window. They also found several small fires in a bedroom closet.

Thiel was found dead in the basement of her house in Henderson on Aug. 29. She lived at the house with her father, Larry Thiel, who was camping in northern Minnesota at the time of the fire.

That fire, which was reported at about 6 a.m. by a neighbor who smelled smoke, started in a bedroom on the first floor. Flames could be seen coming out of the bedroom when firefighters arrived.

Thiel was found in the basement of the house. She had apparently become asphyxiated from the high volume of smoke in the house.

That fire is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s office. Kunkel said reports from the Mankato fire have been forwarded to the assistant state fire marshal investigating the Henderson fire. She said she couldn’t release any more information about the investigation, including why Thiel was at the Lynn Lane mobile home.

When Kenning was contacted at her new mobile home on Lynn Lane Friday, she said she had been told not to comment about the fire.

No further information about the Henderson fire is being released at this time, either, said Doug Neville, director of communications for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. So he said he couldn’t say if arson is suspected in that fire.

“In any investigation, our investigators go in without any preconceived notions,” Neville said. “Until they close that case, we won’t know if it’s arson or not.”

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