Amber Alert suspect in Minnesota accused of kidnapping woman, kids in custody
A man accused of the armed kidnapping a woman and her four children after allegedly killing a man in Minnesota was in custody Friday morning, and the victims have been reported safe, local and state officials said.
Chad Aanerud, 35, was apprehended during a traffic stop about 7:15 a.m. local time after a white minivan was pulled over in Morrison County, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and local authorities said.
The county, in the East Central part of the state, is directly south of Crow Wing County, where law enforcement reported the woman and her children were taken just after 1:50 a.m. Friday.
The victims, who police identified as the man's 33-year-old girlfriend and four children, ages 3, 7, 11 and 14, were found safe in the vehicle, according the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office, the agency that reported the family missing, triggering a statewide Amber Alert.
"There is no threat to the public at this time," Sheriff Eric Klang told Paste BN late Friday morning. "Deputies continue to work this case and will update further as the investigation develops."
A shooting, a family's abduction, and a house arson
Prior to the kidnapping, officials said, Aanerud allegedly shot a man and killed him at a home in Maple Grove Township, before burning it down and kidnapping the five victims at gunpoint.
The sheriff's office identified the man fatally shot as Lyle Maske, 62.
It was not immediately known whether the suspect knew Maske or if Maske knew the Amber Alert victims, but police said Friday they believed the abduction and shooting were related.
Minnesota Amber Alert was issued after killing, kidnapping
According to information from the sheriff's office, the family was taken from a home where they were staying in near the city of Brainerd, about 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis.
Officials said about 1:50 a.m. Friday, Aanerud arrived at the home on the 15000 block of Loerch Road where the victims were staying and fired a rifle round into the ceiling there,
At some point, Aanered fatally shot the victim, forced the mother and her four children to leave with him in a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, and burned down the home.
As of late Friday morning, police had not released additional information about the killing and kidnapping.
The sheriff's office said the shooting and abduction both remained under investigation.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.