Troopers search for man in connection with Soldotna fire and shooting

Alaska State Troopers said Sunday they were searching for a man in connection with a Saturday night fire at a Soldotna residence. Ronald Dean Beyering, 62, faces a string of criminal charges filed Sunday, including arson and that he fired shots at a dwelling.

According to an online report by troopers, law enforcement received a call before midnight about a residence on Lourdes Avenue off Funny River Road in Soldotna fully engulfed in flames. The occupants were able to escape the fire, troopers said.

Beyering, of Soldotna, was seen leaving the property, troopers said, and they obtained an arrest warrant. On Sunday, officers were actively searching for Beyering, who they said is a person of interest in a crime committed late Saturday night.

“Anyone that sees Beyering should not approach him as he is considered armed and dangerous,” troopers said in the report.

The troopers report did not mention shots fired, but a string of criminal complaints filed on Sunday accused Beyering, among other things, of firing shots at a dwelling, intending to cause death, arson and criminal mischief, according to the state’s online court database. Details about the charges and arrest warrant were not immediately available Sunday evening.

Soldotna resident Stephanie Denbrock told the Daily News Sunday that she and her fiancée were the victims of the fire on Lourdes Avenue and that a man fired shots at her. Beyering had previously threatened her, she said.

“Me and my fiancée that were involved in the incident are okay,” she said. “I just have some scratches from bullets going by me.”

On Saturday night, Denbrock said, she was at her shop adjacent to her residence when she heard a loud noise that “sounded like thunder.” She said she stepped outside, saw a part of the house in flames and grabbed a fire extinguisher. She said that’s when shots were fired at the house. She lay down behind a wooden pole on her porch and eventually was able to run around the house and enter it through the back door, she said. She and her fiancée were able to get out safely, she said.

Bevering was described by authorities as a white, 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing around 140 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a camouflage jacket.

Throughout Sunday afternoon, troopers were asking the public to avoid the area of Zackery Street and Inuvik Lane off of Funny River Road in Soldotna, and that there was a large police presence in the area.

Anyone with information is asked to help locate Beyering by calling Soldotna Dispatch Center at (907) 262-4453 or 911.

This is a developing story and will be updated.