On 07/26/2015 at around 0630am the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a 76 year old male in Liberty Township requesting assistance with what sounded initially presenting to be a medical. Deputies arrived and found the male to be in a state exhaustion with reports from his girlfriend that he had not slept in days due to complications from Lyme's disease. Arrangements were made for the girlfriend to leave and allow the male to sleep.
At around 1040am the 76 year old male contacted 911 and was speaking gibberish and not making sense. In addition he was now talking about harming himself with a firearm. To complicate matters his girlfriend had returned to the residence and she now was a hostage not being allowed to leave as she had made several documented attempts. He refused to let her leave and was threatening her life.
Beltrami County Deputies and MN State Troopers responded once again and set up a perimeter near the residence. Contact was made by telephone and negotiations began. The 76 year old male reported having a Derringer pistol in his possession and this was confirmed by observation.
Members of the Headwater SWAT team responded to the scene along with Special Agents of the MN BCA.
Negotiations went on for over 5 hours. Eventually, through planning and coordination the female hostage was able to make an escape from a second story window with the use of a fire ladder. She was extracted and taken to safety by Headwater SWAT team members.
Minutes later the 76 year old male exited the residence and was taken into custody without incident.
He was evaluated on scene by Bemidji Ambulance personnel and transported to Sanford ER for a mental health evaluation.
Additional responders:
Bemidji Police, Blackduck Police, Minnesota State Patrol, Bemidji Ambulance Service, Beltrami County Emergency Management and Communications and Bemidji Police Reserves. The Hubbard-Wadena SWAT team responded but were called off due to the incident being resolved.
