Denver Detectives Solve Deadly Arson Case via Teens’ Google Search Histories

Denver detectives have solved a 2020 arson case that resulted in the deaths of five people by leveraging the Google search histories of three teenagers. The suspects, Kevin Bui, Gavin Seymour, and Dillon Siebert, were originally believed to have avoided prosecution after setting fire to a home in Green Valley Ranch, mistakenly targeting innocent Senegalese immigrants. Bui had used Apple’s Find My feature to track his stolen phone, leading him to the incorrect address. For months, detectives Neil Baker and Ernest Sandoval had no concrete leads despite security footage showing three masked figures. Traditional investigative methods such as cell tower data, geofence warrants, and numerous tips yielded no results. The turning point came when another detective suggested that Google might have records of anyone who had searched the address before the fire. A reverse keyword search warrant was issued, requesting all users who had searched variations of ‘5312 Truckee Street’ in the 15 days prior to the incident. Google provided 61 matching devices, and cross-referencing with earlier cell tower data revealed the three suspects, who had collectively searched the address dozens of times.