Central Minnesota Man Arrested After Leading Police On 23-Mile Chase, Frigid Foot Pursuit

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A central Minnesota man is in jail after leading police on an hours-long chase Wednesday night.

The Meeker County Sheriff’s Office says the chase started shortly after 6 p.m., when a deputy saw the truck of a 36-year-old Litchfield man wanted for multiple violations of a domestic dispute order. The deputy tried to stop the man in Forest City Township, but he sped off, leading authorities on a 23-mile pursuit.

Deputies eventually lost sight of the man in a wooded area off Minnesota Highway 24 and 305th Street. The man then fled on foot.

For over two hours, deputies tracked the man. Nighttime temperatures were in the single-digits.

A local police chief assisting in the search found the man on County State Aid Highway 34, at the intersection of 315th Street. From the man’s car, deputies recovered two shotguns, a handgun and a knife.

The sheriff’s office says the man was treated for frostbite before being booked into the county jail on suspicion of fleeing police, reckless driving, illegal possession of firearms, and violating a no contact order.

The man is slated to make his first appearance in Meeker County District Court on Jan. 28.