COVINGTON, Ga. - Investigators with the Newton County Sheriff's Office are looking for whoever burglarized a house Jan. 17 and may have set a fire to cover their tracks.

According to a NCSO incident report, a deputy responded to a burglar alarm on Valley View Drive just before 10:30 a.m. to find a rear downstairs window open with the screen removed, smoke coming out of the garage and multiple windows, with flames visible at the top of the garage door.

Newton County firefighters arrived at the scene, made entry through the front door and extinguished the fire. According to the report, after the fire was out and  firefighters had removed the smoke, the responding deputy and a deputy fire chief entered the house and noticed that it had been ransacked. 

The homeowner arrived at the scene and reportedly told the deputy that multiple items were missing from the residence, including a safe containing a handgun.

Newton County Fire Services is investigating the cause of the fire. A NCSO spokesperson said there are no suspects.