EVERETT — Police on Friday released surveillance video taken in the moments before the $2 million arson that destroyed Emory’s on Silver Lake last year.
The video shows a man approaching the popular restaurant and leaving less than a minute later, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.
Police said they have evidence that the massive fire on Nov. 9 started about three minutes after the man was photographed walking away. “We want this individual identified and we want to talk to him about this fire,” he said.
Arson detectives determined the blaze was set intentionally.
The effort to recover the surveillance images was a real-life “CSI” effort, Goetz said, referring to the CBS shows that follow crime-scene investigators
The computers used to record the video were badly damaged by water during firefighting. Forensic experts had to dig into the hard drives to remove the files containing the data.
After months of work, the detectives pieced together the video footage.
The suspect is seen in the video wearing a DC “hoodie” sweatshirt, a baseball cap, shorts and tennis shoes.
The restaurant’s owner, Emory Cole, has said he plans to rebuild the restaurant and hopes to reopen by the end of the year.
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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