Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT THE NEBRASKA FIRE MARSHAL’S OFFICE SAYS SOMEONE TAMPERED WITH THE GAS LINE AT WARDROBE SPA, CAUSING IT TO BLOW UP. THE SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY DOESN’T STOP THERE. TUESDAY, THE BUSINESS’S OWNER, MICHAEL MCKERNAN, CALLED DEPUTIES TO HIS STORAGE UNIT NORTHWEST OF VALLEY, SAYING SOMEBODY BROKE IN AND VANDALIZED IT, WRITING, WITH MISSPELLINGS "SPA NO MAS, REBILD NO OPTSHUN" ON THE WALL. I’M TOLD THE WINDOW WAS BROKEN, BUT NOTHING HAD BEEN TAKEN, AND INVESTIGATORS COULDN’T FIND ANY MARKS ON THE GROUND BELOW THE WINDOW. THURSDAY MORNING BEFORE 1:30, VALLEY POLICE WERE CALLED TO MCKERNAN’S HOME IN GINGER COVE, OUTSIDE VALLEY. >> WIFE ADVISING THERE’S A MALE IN THE HOUSE WHO HAS HER HUSBAND ZIP-TIED TO THE POLE, I HAVE THE WIFE AT THE FRONT DOOR NOW WITH ME. REPORTER: AN OFFICER FOUND MCKERNAN ZIP-TIED BY HIS SHED, THE VALLEY POLICE CHIEF TELLS ME MCKERNAN SAID HE WAS CHECKING ON HIS HAM THAT HAD BEEN IN THE SMOKER FOR SEVERAL HOURS WHEN TWO TO THREE HISPANIC MEN ACCOSTED HIM, TOLD HIM TO ZIP-TIE HIMSELF TO THE POLE, A REPORTEDLY LEFT IN A BOAT. INVESTIGATORS SAY THERE WAS A HAM IN THE SMOKER, BUT NO BURNING EMBERS, NO SURVEILLANCE OR WITNESS ACCOUNTS OF A BOAT COMING OR GOING, AND NO EVIDENCE OF A PHYSICAL STRUGGLE. AT THIS POINT, NO ARRESTS OR CITATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE. REPORTING NEAR 168TH AND HARRISON, CAMILA ORTI, KETV NEWSWATCH 7. ALEXANDRA: WE SPOKE THIS AFTERNOON WITH MCKERNAN’S ATTORNEY. JIM SCHAEFER SAYS THEY ARE HAPPY TO COOPERATE WITH AUTHORITIES AS THE INVESTIGATION CONTIN

Advertisement Investigators: Wardrobe Spa owner 'no longer cooperating,' strange events follow arson Authorities say the Wardrobe Spa owner called 911 twice more following business fire Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal is investigating Sunday's explosion and fire at the Wardrobe Spa as arson, suspecting that somebody tampered with the gas line.The business, located near 168th and Harrison streets, is destroyed.Investigators say the suspicious activity doesn't stop at the fire. On Tuesday around 6 p.m., Douglas County deputies say the Wardrobe Spa's owner, Michael McKernan, reported that somebody broke into his storage unit northwest of Valley. Responding deputies found a 12-foot-high window broken and the words "Spa No Mas. Rebild No Optshun" written on the wall. Nothing was stolen, and investigators told KETV NewsWatch 7 that deputies could not find any marks on the ground below the window.On Thursday before 1:30 a.m., McKernan made another call to 911. The Valley Police Chief said a responding officer found McKernan zip-tied to a pole by his shed, which is attached to his Ginger Cove home. According to police, McKernan told officers that he was checking on a ham he was smoking outside when he was accosted by a group of Hispanic men who forced him to zip-tie himself to the pole, with his hands behind his back.The men reportedly came and went in a boat, police said.Investigators say there was a warm ham in the smoker, but no burning embers. A check of area surveillance and interviews with neighbors revealed no evidence of anyone coming or going, police said. There was also no physical evidence of a struggle, according to the chief.The same message found in the storage unit, "Spa No Mas. Rebild No Optshun," was also found on a refrigerator in the home, police say.Both the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and the Valley Police Department maintain that McKernan's accounts of the storage unit break-in and the home invasion don't add up with the evidence. According to authorities, McKernan has also "stopped cooperating" with law enforcement.No arrests or citations have been made in any of these ongoing investigations. McKernan told KETV Friday that he's thankful nobody was hurt. He said he was excited about bringing his environmentally-friendly cleaning business to the metro, and believes somebody could be targeting him.McKernan's attorney, Jim Schaefer, said the investigation is ongoing but he and his client are "happy to cooperate with everyone to determine what transpired."