Frank Green stands proudly next to his Honda Gold Wing motorcycle in Mexican Hat, Utah. The motorcycle was destroyed in an arson fire on Aug. 1. A $500 reward is being offered to anyone who solves the crime.

By Aspen C. Emmett
Journal Staff Writer

Three weeks have passed since an alleged arson fire destroyed Frank Green’s livelihood and investigators are no closer to solving the crime than they were the day it happened.

In the evening hours of Aug. 1, Green’s metal shed, containing his prized 1983 Harley Davidson and a 1979 Honda Gold Wing, went up in flames for no apparent reason. Detectives with the Montezuma County Sheriff’s offices have deemed the fire a result of arson but have not been able to identify any suspects.

"We don’t have any solid leads or information to go on," said MCSO Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs.

Now, Green, a 53-year-old retired Cortez resident, is left with more questions than answers and has begun to formulate his own suspicions surrounding who and why.

Was it simply a child playing with matches? Or was it something more sinister, like a scorned criminal trying to send a message to someone who might testify against him?

"I was kind of suspicious of something right off the bat," Green said. "There wasn’t any electrical shorts or open flames."

Boggs declined comment specifically on what detectives believe to be the cause of the fire but did state it "was of a suspicious origin."

"The on-scene investigation indicates the fire was not accidental," Boggs said.

Green said he was recently a witness to a felony crime and had been asked to testify against a defendant. Although he has yet to appear before the court, Green said he has received numerous threats that lead him to believe the fire may somehow be related.

"I don’t know if this was supposed to be a fear tactic or something like that," Green commented. "I just don’t know. If it’s the people I’m thinking it is — they’ve threatened me a number of times."

But the night of the fire, there were no eyewitnesses to the incident, or at least any who have come forward.

Just after 9 p.m. Green and his roommate were inside his house in the 24000 block of County Road F.5 when they heard a loud bang that was followed by a quieter "pop."

"I was out on the porch investigating the louder one and the shed just went up quick," he said. "By the time I got out there it was engulfed."

Later, Green and detectives theorized that the louder bang was caused by the shed’s door slamming shut and the smaller sound was the result of the fire igniting one of the motorcycles’ gas tanks or an electrical fuse.

Neighbors rushed to assist Green in extinguishing the flames, and approximately 20 minutes later the Cortez Fire Department arrived on scene.

But the damage was already done.

Both the motorcycles had been cremated, along with miscellaneous tools and parts that belonged not only to Green but his friends as well. Green is still in the process of assessing his losses but estimated the fire caused more than $20,000 in damages.

Despite the devastating losses, Green said the fire could have caused far more damage.

"If it hadn’t been in that tin building, it could have wiped this whole area out," he speculated. "It endangered a lot of stuff here — not only my place but my brother-in-law’s. There’s also some big trees here and if it had got into them it would probably have got the (Cottonwood) trailer park next door."

Because the arson investigation has revealed so little, Green has been left to guess about what really happened that evening. He has even questioned his own actions, wondering if he had left something running when he returned from a quick joyride on his Harley just an hour before it was torched.

"But I was in and out of the shop all night," he said recalling the night’s events. "So if there was something slowly smoldering, I would have smelled it."

Perhaps the most troubling question Green is left to ponder is the perpetrator’s motive.

"Why did they destroy it? Steal it if you’ve got a mean heart but don’t destroy something like that," he said in frustration. "My Harley — it was special; it was a guy’s dream."

Green said the Gold Wing is beyond any hope of repair but that he may be able to revive the Harley with the help of his generous friends and neighbors, though it won’t be in time for the Four Corners Iron Horse Motorcycle Rally.

"I may still go to the rally," Green said with a hint of bitterness. "But I’ll have to take my Yamaha."

Green is offering a $500 reward in information leading to the conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the fire. Anyone with information should contact the MCSO detectives division at 565-8452.