Suspicious fire under investigation
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a suspicious fire that was reported on May 1, at approximately 6:15 p.m., on Freedom Flyer Road about two miles southeast of Vergas
It was reported to be a small fire in a shop that the Vergas Fire Department was able to extinguish. The sheriff’s office stated that mutual fire departments were paged and canceled prior to putting it out.
The Minnesota State Fire Marshall was called to the scene and will be working with detectives to determine the cause. No more information is available at this time.
Leak surveyors
Fergus Falls police dispatch was contacted on May 2, at approximately 8:39 a.m., that leak surveyors with Great Plains Natural Gas would be in town for the next few weeks starting with public buildings and then business districts. They informed police that they would be driving a blue car with South Dakota plates and would be wearing blue vests.
Exhibition driving
A passerby contacted Fergus Falls police on May 1, at approximately 8:38 p.m., to report that a gray Honda sedan was in a parking lot on the 200 block of East Lincoln Avenue spinning its tires and driving in circles. When an officer arrived at the scene, the person admitted to the driving conduct and agreed that it was not smart. The individual was given a warning for exhibition driving.
Van attempts to camp in parking lot
An employee with the city contacted Fergus Falls police on May 1, at approximately 2:07 p.m., that a van had set up in a parking lot and had started running a generator that was not in the campground portion of DeLagoon Park. The person also had concerns with baseball practices and games that evening that just wanted the parties with the van to just move along. An officer spoke with the owner of the van and informed them that camping was not allowed in the parking lots.
Vehicle burglaries
A resident on the 1000 block of Springen Avenue contacted Fergus Falls police on May 1, at approximately 10:34 a.m., to report that someone had tried to gain entry into their vehicle. A responding officer learned that sometime between Apr. 27 and May 1, damage occurred to the rear driver’s side door handle. A dent and scuff were also noted. Maintenance of the apartment complex was going to review parking lot video surveillance to see if they could discern anything else.
Another call for service regarding an attempted break-in was reported on Apr. 30, at approximately 2:26 a.m., involving two possible suspects that were trying to break into a vehicle on the 1100 block of South Vine Street. The resident at that location told an officer that they had heard a car door slam shut, then saw a shadow outside their window. They reported that they then heard an individual say, “Let’s get out of here, dude.” The resident did not know in which direction of travel they had left and nothing was damaged or stolen in that case.
A call from another resident on the 200 block of Kristin Court on Apr. 28, at approximately 7:09 a.m., reported that someone had broken into their vehicle overnight and rummaged through their vehicle and stole a GPS unit from the center console area valued between $30-40.
A resident on the 700 block of Spruce Street also report a vehicle break-in on Apr. 28, sometime between 11 p.m. on Apr. 27 and 9:15 a.m. on Apr. 28, that someone had broken into their unlocked truck and had stolen a green Ryobi brand battery powered nail gun valued at $138. The nail gun belonged to a property management company.
No suspects have been named in any of the cases.
Purse stolen at library
Fergus Falls police dispatch took a report on Apr. 29 at approximately 4:15 p.m., that someone had stolen their purse at the Fergus Falls Public Library while they were there. Police say the purse was recovered shortly after the report was made. However, police stated that approximately $800 worth of property was stolen from the purse.
Wire stolen from irrigator
An area farmer contacted the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office on May 1, at approximately 10:51 a.m., to report that parts were missing from their irrigator located on 425th Avenue. When a deputy investigated, they determined that 25-40 feet of heavy gauge coated wire was cut from the irrigator sometime between last year’s harvest and May 1. $1200 in damage was estimated in the theft.
