The vehicle was later found 150 miles away in Cass County, where Anderson’s family had a cabin.
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A 25-year-old man who was considered a family friend was charged Tuesday with kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing a 5-year-old girl from central Minnesota – leaving her body submerged in a swamp and covered with debris.
Anderson was a family friend and a co-worker of Alayna’s father who had been spending the night, Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze told KARE-11 television. Her mother, Kayla Ertl, discovered she was missing at 8 a.m., authorities said. House guest Zachary Anderson, 25, was gone as well, along with an Ertl family auto, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a statement on Sunday.
A preliminary autopsy said she died of homicidal violence. Law enforcement is still looking for information from anyone who saw Anderson or the stolen vehicle on Saturday.
On the morning of August 20, an Amber Alert went out after Ertl was reported missing from her home by her parents.
Alayna Ertl’s parents realized Saturday that she was missing from their Watkins, MN, home, along with their houseguest, Zachary Anderson.
Tom Ertl, a distant family member and owner of the local funeral home, is helping to plan Alayna’s burial, a difficult task at any age made much harder when it’s a young life.
Authorities used dogs and tracked Anderson to a wooded area a quarter-mile from the cabin, located several miles down a gravel road from the entrance to Wilderness Park, a collection of small cabins and trailer homes nestled among tall trees.
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. Anderson’s criminal history appears limited to minor traffic violations.
Alayna’s father worked with Mr Anderson at Vanguard, a company that locates utility lines underground. “This is not the first time”, Cruze told KSTP. “They trusted him. He seemed like a good guy”. Alayna’s death was “obviously not the outcome that we wanted and when we did learn the information, the officers in the room, you could see.it weighed heavy on them”, the sheriff said.
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A GoFundMe page has been set up for those wishing to donate in Ertl’s honor and help with funeral expenses.
