The remains found on a Missouri property in a burn pile are those of a Minnesota teenager who had been missing for more than a month. Investigators were able to use dental records to identify 16-year-old Savannah Leckie. Leckie’s remains were found in July just 400 yards from a property where she had been staying with her biological mother for the past year. Leckie grew up with her adoptive mother in the Twin Cities, but according to the warrant, the adoptive mother contacted Rebecca Ruud to tell her Leckie “could not get along” with her new boyfriend here in Minnesota. Ruud then agreed to take Leckie back, according to the complaint, and she returned to Ozark County. More information is expected to be released today.
Monday’s solar eclipse indirectly contributed to the death of a Minnesota college student on Monday. 19-year old Joan Ocampo-Yambing of Rosemount died when a semi ran into two cars on a congested Interstate-80 in Omaha. The car with the victim and several other Creighton University students was on its way to Lincoln, Nebraska to view the eclipse.
State Senator David Osmek officially jumped into the race for governor this morning. Osmek, a Republican from the west metro suburb of Mound, kicks off his campaign at the State Capitol followed by stops today in Mankato, Rochester and Austin. He’s the sixth Republican in the race: Christopher Chamberlin, Matt Dean, Keith Downey, Blake Huffman and Jeff Johnson announced earlier. And there are six Democrats already vying for *their* party’s nomination for governor. The election is over a year away, but the field is wide open because Governor Mark Dayton is not running for a third term.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department and several area fire departments responded to the report of a house fire in Orr Monday morning. When crews arrived, just before 6 a.m., the house was fully engulfed in flames and completely destroyed in the fire. It was determined that the house was unoccupied and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the State Fire Marshall
A park trail in Bemidji was closed over the weekend after a three-year old girl was attacked by an owl. The DNR says the girl was treated after suffering minor scratches on her head while out with family on Rocky Point Trail at Lake Bemidji State Park on Friday. Experts say the owl might have felt her young to be threatened by the girl.
People and pets are being told to stay out of a metro area lake because of blue-green algae. Officials are monitoring levels at Lake Cornelia in Edina where high levels were also detected last fall. Blue-green algae can be toxic, causing death or liver and kidney damage.