Authorities found the body of a 5-year-old Minnesota girl just hours after they had issued an Amber Alert saying she had been abducted by a family friend.
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Zachary Todd Anderson, 26, of Monticello, was being held in the Crow Wing County Jail in the death of Alayna Ertl, whose mother discovered her missing from her home in the central Minnesota town of Watkins around 8 a.m. Saturday.
Cass County sheriff’s deputies located the stolen vehicle on property owned by Anderson’s family in rural Cass County.
The crime is being investigated jointly by the Meeker County and Cass County sheriff’s offices and the BCA.
The body of Alayna Jeanne Ertl was found in Cass County in a swampy wooded area, about 200 miles north of Minneapolis.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner said a preliminary autopsy found Alayna died of “homicidal violence”, but in news release, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension did not offer other details about her death, including when, where or how she died.
Also missing from the home Saturday morning was Anderson, who authorities said had been spending the night with the Ertl family.
Matt Ertl’s cellphone was in the truck that authorities said Anderson had taken, and the phone pinged about 9 a.m.in nearby Todd County, authorities said.
Meeker County Sheriff’s Office deputies received a report at 10 a.m. Saturday of a missing child.
He was later transferred and booked in the Cass County Jail about 3 a.m. Sunday on suspicion of first degree murder with intent and kidnapping a victim under age 16, according to the jail’s log. None of the footage led to Ertl or Anderson’s locations.
Authorities had information that Anderson may have been in Todd County about 6:30 a.m. Saturday, via Matt Ertl’s cell phone left inside the vehicle. “He had previously been to that residence and spent a night here and there so he’s not a stranger and not new to the residence, but was just there for the night”.
Cruze also reported that the suspect Anderson had been located earlier and arrested in the rural area. She was pronounced dead when police arrived on the scene.
Minnesota court records show only minor traffic violations.
A GoFundMe page has been set up in Alayna’s honor and help with funeral expenses.
Anyone with information or who had seen Ertl, the suspect Anderson or the vehicle he was driving are encouraged to call the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office at 320-693-5400.
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Alayna’s parents, Kayla and Matt Ertl, in a photo Matt Ertl posted on Facebook.
