A Lyons man lost his house to arson Sept. 16 after an altercation between a Eugene man and his ex-girlfriend.
Frank Shaffer owned the house on Fox Valley Road, which was previously the Fox Valley School. The fire completely destroyed Shaffer’s residence.
“Frank’s vehicles, belongings and house were all lost in a fire this week,” said Laura Crocker, who set up a GoFundMe account to help Shaffer rebuild. “Frank is a very good family friend who will do anything to help anyone.
“This is a horrible loss for Frank,” she posted on the site. “Please keep Frank in your thoughts and prayers!”
Crocker said Shaffer had no homeowner’s insurance and was left with nothing. As of Sept. 28, the plea has raised $4,590 toward a $250,000 goal.
“This just breaks my heart,” Debi Aggas posted on Facebook. “Prayers for this family.”
According to Linn County Undersheriff Michelle Duncan, a call was received by the Linn County Dispatch Center about a trespass in progress at the residence. The caller reported David Allen Crouch, 42, was on the property after harassing her the previous day.
On the afternoon of Sept. 15, the woman reported threats from her ex-boyfriend and was instructed to acquire a restraining order. Later that night, she began receiving threatening messages from Crouch while out of town and told police she was afraid the man might be at her house. Deputies were unable to locate Crouch.
The following day while deputies were responding to the trespass, the caller reported she was following Crouch who had left the location. She lost sight of him and returned to the Fox Valley Road residence to find it on fire. Deputies arrived to find the residence fully engulfed in flames.
The three-plus alarm fire required personnel from 14 agencies, including Lyons Rural Fire District, Linn County and Marion County Sheriff’s offices, various regional fire districts, and the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The fire quickly spread to the field of a neighboring property but was contained and did not damage any buildings. One person from the neighboring property was transported for a medical event to the Santiam Hospital in Stayton where they were treated and released.
By 5 p.m. Linn County Detectives located Crouch in Eugene and he was taken into custody by the Eugene SWAT team. He was lodged at Linn County Jail on charges of Menacing and Harassment.
He was additionally charged with Arson 1. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Detective Colin Pyle: 541-967-3950.
