Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Searching for leads in reported  ATV crash 

On October 1st at approximately 5:30 a.m. the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office dispatch received a call from an unknown caller  that said that there was an ATV accident at the dead end of the Roy Lake landing. The caller stated that the victim was bleeding from the head and did not have a pulse. The caller told dispatch that they had a warrant out for their arrest and did not want to identify themselves. The caller then hung up and would not return the dispatcher’s calls.

The Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office, White Earth Police Department, MN State Patrol, Emergency Management, White Earth Conservation, Twin Lakes Fire, Mahnomen Fire, Naytahwaush Ambulance, and Mahnomen Ambulance responded to the area.

Searches were performed on foot, by ATV, drone, and State Patrol helicopter, until approximately 3:30 p.m. There was no evidence of an ATV crash near the reported crash site. Law enforcement spoke with several residents in the area and no one noticed any ATV traffic during the time of the reported incident.

An investigator determined that the phone the call was made from did not have an active cell phone plan,which means that the call had to be made from a place where there was a Wi-Fi connection. The caller was likely not at the Roy Lake landing when the call was placed. The investigator was not able to determine the owner of the phone number, so law enforcement was unable to get follow up information from the caller.

Law enforcement and emergency management determined that the report may have been flawed or not credible, however, the report is being taken seriously. The Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office is asking people to check on their family, friends, and acquaintances that may have been riding ATV in the Strawberry Mountain/Height of Land area this weekend. 

If anyone is missing or if anyone has information related to this incident, please contact the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office at 218-935-2255.