From Chief of Police, Mike Mastin:
On November 13th, 2019 at 3:51a.m. Bemidji Police Officers responded to the Sanford Hospital ER on a report of an intoxicated juvenile female. Upon arrival they discovered that this female had been consuming alcohol in the area of Anne Street and Irvine Avenue with another juvenile female. This female stated that they fled northeast from this location into a swampy area after seeing a squad car. The female reported that the two walked through the wet swamp and eventually the second female could no longer walk on her own. The reporting female told officers that she was able to drag her friend to the edge of the swamp. She left her friend in order to walk to a nearby gas station to get help. Once at the gas station she was given a ride to the emergency room.
Bemidji Police Officers, Bemidji Fire fighters, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Deputies and Bemidji Ambulance EMT’s immediately responded to the large swampy area North East of the described intersection. Responding personnel began to follow multiple sets of foot tracks in the freshly fallen snow. The Bemidji Police Department and Bemidji Fire Department utilized thermal imagers to further assist in the search.
Additional personnel was called up for duty in preparation for a grid search of the swamp. A request was made to the United States Border Patrol for their assistance with a helicopter equipped with heat sensing equipment.
As the investigation continued, Bemidji Police Officers worked with the Beltrami County Communications Center to research past contacts and possible locations the juvenile may have walked to on her own. Bemidji Police Officers were able to locate the juvenile female at an apartment in the 800 block of 26th street. The juvenile was released to the custody of a parent.
The Bemidji Police Department appreciates the assistance of the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, Bemidji Ambulance, Bemidji Fire Dept, and the Beltrami County Communications Center.
Respectfully,
Mike Mastin, Chief of Police
Bemidji Police Department
613 Minnesota Avenue
Bemidji, MN 56601
(218)333-8437, Fax (218)333-8370
mmastin@ci.bemidji.mn.us
