Latest news with #MinnesotaStatePatrol
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Authorities searching for man who did not resurface from Mississippi River in southern Minnesota
Authorities in southern Minnesota are searching for a 56-year-old man who went underwater on the Mississippi River and did not resurface. The Goodhue County Sheriff's Office says the man went missing from Long Point Beach around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday. Witnesses say a 12-year-old girl entered the water to wade alongside the man, who was a close family friend. While walking along the sandbar, she began flailing her arms in distress. A nearby boat found the girl in water over her head and pulled her safely and uninjured from the river, according to the sheriff's office. The man went under the water and did not resurface. Alongside the Minnesota State Patrol and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office initiated a search for the man. The search continued on Sunday.
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Woman fatally ejected in Cottage Grove crash was unbelted, state patrol says
A 43-year-old woman was killed late Wednesday afternoon in a crash in the east Twin Cities metro, according to the Minnesota State Patrol. It happened just after 4:30 p.m. in Cottage Grove at Highway 61 and Kingsborough Trail, just north of the Mississippi River. The state patrol says the victim, from Hastings, wasn't wearing a seat belt when her southbound SUV collided with a sedan at the intersection. The crash caused the SUV to roll, ejecting the victim. The driver of the sedan, a 22-year-old Cottage Grove woman, was not hurt. The state patrol is still investigating, and says alcohol wasn't a factor in this crash. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says as of Wednesday, there have been 177 traffic deaths in the state.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- CBS News
DUI suspect buries himself in mud to avoid capture, Minnesota police say
Police say that a motorist they suspect was driving while impaired went to great lengths to avoid being captured in northern Minnesota, up to and including burying himself in mud. Frazee police say they received notice of the potentially impaired driver on Monday. They say they located the vehicle and were in the process of calling a second unit while performing field sobriety tests when the driver took off running. Despite officers' use of a Taser to try to subdue the driver, he continued running away. Police say that the driver went into Otter Tail River and hid among the cattails, ultimately burying himself in mud. Officers from the Detroit Lakes Police Department, Becker County Sheriff's Office and Minnesota State Patrol were involved in the search, and authorities launched drones to locate the driver. After multiple hours of hiding, the suspect made his way back to land, and was taken into custody by deputies, but not until he once again went into the river to evade capture, police said. The driver, who was described as a 28-year-old from Detroit Lakes, is facing possible charges of driving while impaired, fleeing on foot, obstruction of justice and felony violation of a court order.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sheriff Bob Fletcher critiques agency info-sharing after lawmaker shootings
After last month's shootings of two state lawmakers and their spouses, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is pressing public safety officials for answers on how they handled notifying legislators and law enforcement agencies of the ongoing threat. In a letter to security officials at the Minnesota Capitol, Fletcher raised concerns about information sharing between law enforcement and state leaders as a man suspected of shooting lawmakers while disguised as a police officer remained at large in the early morning hours of June 14. Fletcher said the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office did not learn of the shootings, details about the suspect, or the fact that the suspect had been targeting lawmakers until hours after the information had become available to other officials and law enforcement agencies. 'Few things are more troubling than not being informed for several hours that a murderer is roaming the northern suburbs with a 'hit list' in search of his potential victims, many of whom reside in your patrol jurisdiction,' the sheriff wrote in a July 7 letter addressed to the Minnesota House Sergeant at Arms and the Capitol Security Division of the Minnesota State Patrol. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety disputes Fletcher's claims. 'This letter does not accurately represent the manner in which law enforcement responded to the tragic events on June 14,' Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson said in a statement this week. 'Notifications were sent to the proper parties early that morning. We'll be discussing that in greater detail with the sheriff and the others as the investigation continues.' Vance Boelter, 57, faces federal and state prosecution for the fatal shootings of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home in Brooklyn Park, and shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin. Authorities captured him near his home outside Green Isle, Minn., after a two-day manhunt. Boelter allegedly had a list of addresses for Democratic elected officials and abortion providers in his vehicle, and visited the homes of Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, and Rep. Kristin Bahner, DFL-Maple Grove. Bahner was not home at the time, and Boelter allegedly left Rest's street after a police officer arrived. Local police became aware of the shootings just after 2 a.m., when Hoffman's daughter called 911, and started responding to north Hennepin County legislators' homes. Though a widespread alert did not happen until after 3:30 a.m., when officers encountered the shooter at the Hortmans' Brooklyn Park home. The Department of Public Safety said teletype notifications — digital inter-agency notices — went out to metro-area law enforcement agencies: one from the Brooklyn Park Police Department at 4:25 a.m. and another from the State Patrol at 4:40 a.m. Those notifications mentioned that the suspected shooter appeared to be impersonating a police officer and urged agencies to monitor elected officials' residences. Asked about the teletype notifications, Fletcher said they lacked complete information and should have included lawmakers' addresses so law enforcement could know where to go. He also said the notifications included a description of the suspects' vehicle, even though the suspect had abandoned the vehicle at the Hortmans' Brooklyn Park house after encountering police. Fletcher is calling for a review of the events of June 14, possibly through a legislative audit, to answer questions about which agency should be responsible for notifying lawmakers and law enforcement of potential threats. The biggest concern, he said, is that it's unclear who exactly should be notifying lawmakers and state law enforcement of potential threats. While there were various messages sent by the sergeant at arms, legislative staff, and law enforcement agencies, the level of information available in different communications was at times patchy and delayed, he said. 'I was never suggesting at the time that I wrote the letter that we need to blame someone,' Fletcher said in an interview. 'In fact, my letter says we need to figure out who's even responsible.' A group of 150 sheriffs and police chiefs received a briefing from the Department of Public Safety on this week, Fletcher said, adding that the agency plans a review of what happened the morning of June 14. The House sergeant at arms falls under the authority of House leadership. House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, said there will be a review of the response to the shootings. 'I am grateful for the prompt and heroic efforts by law enforcement on the day of this horrific attack,' she said in a statement. 'As with every major public safety incident, there will be top-to-bottom reviews of the response as well as significant work to examine improvements to safety and security measures.' Fletcher's letter to Capitol security and the House sergeant at arms comes as he continues to press state leaders to boost security at the state Capitol. In a July 1 letter, Fletcher asked members of the Advisory Committee on Capitol Security, a bipartisan panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, to consider electronic screening of visitors. Measures should include metal detectors or X-ray machines to screen for weapons, the sheriff wrote, telling the committee that his office would be ready to assist with any efforts. The advisory committee so far hasn't weighed in publicly on any specific changes at the Capitol. In June, members issued a statement saying they were committed to boosting security but stopped short of endorsing any specific measures. MN counties could see strain, 250K could lose coverage under Medicaid changes in Trump's big bill Letters: It's our duty to rediscover the hope and promise of America Stillwater to consider downtown 'sip-and-stroll' social district St. Paul: Grants aim to support Arcade Street businesses during road work Boating permits, lane splitting, free water at shows: New MN laws start July 1
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
A Minnesota state trooper drowned while boating on a South Dakota lake. Here's what we know
A Minnesota State Patrol trooper drowned while boating on Waubay Lake in South Dakota, the Day County Sheriff's Office said in a July 2 news release. The trooper, Mollie McClure, was in a boat on the northeast part of the lake before getting in the water to swim, the news release says. At some point, McClure wasn't able to keep swimming and went under before rescue efforts could save her. An initial search involving multiple agencies began in the early evening hours of June 29, but McClure wasn't found. With darkness and the possibility of severe weather looming, the search was postponed until the early morning hours of June 30, when McClure's body was recovered. Authorities plan to investigate why McClure wasn't able to remain above the water, but the news release says no criminal charges have been filed in connection with the incident and everyone involved has been cooperative. McClure joined the Minnesota State Patrol in October 2021 and served in the St. Cloud district, the agency said July 1. Her career included time spent training trooper academy cadets, serving as a peer counselor and participating in a workgroup focused on raising the number of female troopers in the agency. Waubay Lake is in South Dakota's Day County, roughly 60 miles east of Aberdeen. This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Minnesota trooper Mollie McClure drowned while boating on Waubay Lake
