The suspect in her disappearance, family friend Zachary Anderson, 26, has been arrested and a vehicle found, police said. Anderson of Monticello was held in jail without bail over the weekend in connection with the death of Alayna Ertl.
Advertisement
The news of Alayna’s death has devastated people in her hometown of Watkins.
Anderson, who has been jailed since Saturday, is scheduled to appear before a District Court judge in Walker during a hearing Tuesday that starts at 11:30 a.m.
The crime is being investigated jointly by the Meeker and Cass County sheriff’s offices and the BCA.
Anderson is accused of driving Ertl away in her father’s vehicle, with her dad’s cellphone still in the auto, officials said. Authorities do not locate anyone inside the truck or inside a cabin on the property.
An entrance to Wilderness Park Estates leads into the area that Alayna Ertl was found Saturday in the southern portion of the residential park, located about 3 miles east of Leader in Cass County.
“She dressed up to a ‘T, ‘ she wore little dresses with the cutest little hats you could find, she loved doing it, she’d dance around with them, she was a little angel”, Jeff said.
By Saturday evening, officers had tracked down that family friend.
Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze said Saturday evening that a cellphone in the vehicle allowed investigators to track the pickup for a time.
Deputies conducted a neighborhood canvass for Alayna.
Anderson, unarmed, did not flee or resist arrest and provided information that led authorities to Alayna’s body in a swampy area a few hundred yards from the cabin. There will also be parish prayers at 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
“I feel the same as everybody else”, Tom Ertl told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses. As of 10:30 p.m. Sunday, almost $14,000 had been raised through the site in eight hours.
Alayna’s parents, Kayla and Matt Ertl, in a photo Matt Ertl posted on Facebook.
Advertisement
The Meeker and Cass County sheriff’s offices are continuing to work together on the ongoing investigation.
