Photos by De Gau Firefighters could be seen working around the wreckage of a garage on 310th Street, in Stanley Township. The fire, which damaged both the garage and an attached house, is thought to be linked to a suspicious vehicle found abandoned in the township, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office said. A 33-year-old man found at the scene of the fire was arrested, the Sheriff’s Office said.

MARSHALL — A report of a suspicious vehicle abandoned in rural Stanley Township turned into a possible arson case for law enforcement in Lyon County on Friday.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, along with other area law enforcement and firefighters from multiple departments, went from conducting a search for the vehicle’s driver, to putting out a fire at a garage and attached house located just a section away.

Deputies encountered a 33-year-old man at the scene of the fire, who is now being held at the Lyon County Jail pending criminal charges, said Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen. The suspicious vehicle and fire incidents are believed to be related, he said.

There were no injuries reported in the garage fire, Wallen said, but the garage and attached house suffered severe fire and smoke damage.

Law enforcement had started out Friday morning with a report of a suspicious vehicle in Section 16 of Stanley Township, northeast of Marshall. That call came in at 9:38 a.m., Wallen said. The vehicle was found empty, and law enforcement and firefighters started a search for the driver. Lyon County was assisted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Renville and Redwood County Sheriff’s Offices, the Marshall and Cottonwood Fire Departments, and North Memorial Ambulance.

The search continued through the morning. Then a passerby called in a fire in an attached garage at a residence on 310th Street, Wallen said. The address was in Section 15, the next section over from where the vehicle was found.

The fire call came in at 1:49 p.m., Wallen said. The Sheriff’s Office responded, along with the Marshall, Cottonwood, Tracy, and Milroy Fire Departments. On arrival, a sheriff’s deputy found a 33-year-old man at the scene. The man had “no apparent injuries,” Wallen said.

The man was arrested, and is being held at the county jail pending formal charges of arson and auto theft, Wallen said. The fire is under investigation.