ST. LOUIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Resolution remains elusive in the 1979 murder of Theresa Holappa

Teri Cadeau — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:30:00 GMT

SOUDAN, Minn. — Theresa Kay Holappa had big plans. The very recent 1979 graduate of Tower-Soudan High �� was set to leave June 4, 1979, to join the Women's Army Corps, according to a June 15, 1979, story in the Duluth News Tribune.

June 3 was her last Sunday in the Tower-Soudan area for a while. She attended a baptism ceremony for her sister's child and served as the godmother. She left the celebration at her sister's house around 1:30 p.m. and told her family she planned to finish packing and visit with friends later that night.

But something happened in that five-block walk between her sister's home and her own home, and Holappa disappeared.

Soudan woman's body found 15 Jun 1979, Fri The Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minnesota) Newspapers.com

Her parents contacted the local police department right away when she didn't return from her sister's house. A day later, she was officially listed as a missing person, which started a 10-day search of the area, according to the same June 15 story in the News Tribune. The family lived in uncertainty about Holappa's fate for 10 days before receiving a dreaded knock on the door.

Holappa's body was found in a wooded area about a mile south of Tower on June 13, 1979. Due to the deteriorated condition of the body, the cause of death couldn't be determined immediately, although reports indicate that foul play was suspected. A few days later, the results from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office concluded that Holappa died of multiple stab wounds, according to a June 29, 1979, News Tribune story.

Woman's death ruled murder after autopsy 29 Jun 1979, Fri The Duluth News Tribune (Duluth, Minnesota) Newspapers.com

Holappa's family members declined to be interviewed for this story, but confirmed that about a year later, investigators returned to the family's home to reveal that they had a suspect, but that the individual had been suspected of another crime and took their own life before they could be arrested. The case was considered suspended because there were no other suspects and insufficient evidence to prove the lone suspect guilty.

The case remained suspended for decades. There was some movement on social media in 2019 when classmates of Holappa gathered for their 40th reunion and asked for the county to test DNA or find another way to resolve the case.

When the News Tribune reached out to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office for a status update, an information specialist replied that there was no data available about the case. It's unclear if that is because the case is considered closed or if it remains suspended.

Back when Holappa's body was first found, her uncle, Curtis Barsness of Eden Prairie, said his niece was "very mature, strong, always willing to help." He remembered her for her involvement in church activities and said she was a good student.

“You keep hoping for the things that sound the best to you until you get the bad news,” Barsness said in the June 15 News Tribune story.

Holappa's family received the bad news in the form of a suspended case over 40 years ago.

]]>

4 Blackduck residents dead after multi-vehicle accident in St. Louis County

Pioneer Staff Report — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 20:51:58 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Two adults and two children from Blackduck have been pronounced dead after a semi hit multiple vehicles stopped in traffic along U.S. Highway 2, west of Duluth.

According to the Minnesota State Patrol report, around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, four vehicles were stopped in traffic due to construction on U.S. Highway 2 near Nelson Road in Arrowhead Township, St. Louis County.

While they were stopped, the vehicles were struck by a semi "traveling at highway speeds," the report said.

A Honda Pilot driven by 65-year-old Vincent Dow, of Blackduck, was one of the vehicles struck. Dow, along with passengers 66-year-old Bonnie Dow, 9-year-old Hope Oakgrove and 9-year-old Charlotte White, also of Blackduck, were pronounced dead.

Of the other stopped vehicles, a driver and a passenger of two separate vehicles were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the report. The driver of the semi also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, Arrowhead Fire, Floodwood Police, Fire and Ambulance, Cloquet Ambulance, Lifelink and other agencies responded to the incident.

]]>

Minnesota DNR to honor pilot who rescued Curtain Falls survivors

John Myers — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 21:28:39 GMT

BRAINERD, Minn. — For 17 days during a gut-wrenching, gut-busting search-and-recovery mission, much of the attention on the Curtain Falls accident in May was focused on the effort to find and recover the bodies of two canoeists.

The search in roiling waters along the Minnesota-Ontario border deep in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness took dozens of search-and-rescue experts, underwater drones and cameras, aircraft searching with infrared cameras, cadaver dogs, divers, boats, canoes, support staff and more. It captivated the state into June.

But before that search-and-recovery effort even started, Grace Zeller had already flown her Minnesota Department of Natural Resources MD-500 Little Bird helicopter into the accident scene twice, at midnight, to evacuate two injured canoeists from the same group who washed over the same falls and survived.

Her story hasn’t been widely told before. But for her efforts above and beyond the call of duty, and which may have placed her in harm's way in the effort to save others, Zeller will receive the Minnesota DNR Division of Enforcement Lifesaving Award at an event later this month.

Small DNR choppers not made for rescues

Zeller, 35, a natural resources pilot for the DNR’s enforcement aviation division, is based in Brainerd and usually earns her paycheck by flying the helicopter to conduct aerial wildlife surveys; stock fish in remote lakes; shuttle biologists into remote areas to conduct research; and sometimes to locate and fight wildfires if needed.

“It’s a small helicopter, four people, and we really don’t do rescues because we’re not set up for it. There’s no hoist (to lift people into the aircraft) for one thing,” Zeller noted. “We do search, not usually rescue.”

But on the night of May 18, Zeller received a call on her day off from her boss, DNR enforcement aviation leader Jake Willis, to see if she was able and willing to fly. Information was still sketchy, but it was clear something bad had happened in a remote part of the BWCAW, and there were no other aircraft available in the region capable of getting to and landing at that location.

“I told her she didn’t have to do it if it looked wrong, but she didn’t hesitate a second,” Willis recalled. “I said that if at any time she felt uncomfortable trying to get into that spot to turn around and bring it home. We could at least say we tried.”

Zeller rushed to the Brainerd airport, readied her chopper and zoomed to the Ely airport at about 130 mph. There, she picked up two veteran helicopter trauma medics and a third person experienced in helicopter rescues.

“The North Memorial (air ambulance) helicopter was already in Ely with their crew, but they couldn't get into the accident," she recalled in an interview with the News Tribune. "It was just too big of a helicopter, and it’s on wheels, and their policy is not to go into that situation at night. So their (medical) crew flew in with me.”

Other possible rescue aircraft, including the U.S. Forest Service’s famous Beaver float planes usually stationed in Ely, were unavailable.

“Really, Gracie was all there was anywhere in the region who could get in there,” Willis said. “I wasn’t sure it was going to come together in time.”

Landing on a rock in the dark

Rescue crews were already on the way into the accident scene by water, but it would be well into the next day before they arrived. It took Zeller’s helicopter only 15 minutes to get from the Ely airport to Curtain Falls.

“It was already dark-dark by then. There was a little finger moon shining on the water. One of the guys I had on board had night vision goggles so that helped find a landing zone,” Zeller said.

Her first chosen landing spot was on a small rock island away from the island where the victims were waiting. But an even better spot was found closer to the victims and Zeller eventually landed the helicopter on a bald rock outcrop on the same small island where the injured canoeists were located. The Little Bird is equipped with fixed skids to land on.

“I could see it was safe," Zeller said. "It was a flat rock, no vegetation, the trees were far enough away. It was safe with the tail rotor out over the river, so I put it down. It was firm enough where I could even idle it down. I wasn’t half-hovering like I was at the first spot."

Rescuers had been called to the scene by two other paddlers who had summoned help by satellite telephone.

“I never found out who they were, their names. They just said they were concerned citizens,” Zeller said.

The injured canoeists, Kyle Sellers, 47, and Erik Grams, 43, both of Ham Lake, Minnesota, “were lucky those other guys were there," she said.

The good Samaritans had a bonfire going to help Zeller locate the spot.

The Little Bird has no space for a stretcher, so the original plan was to drop off the medics who would stay with the victims and render first aid until daylight when a larger float plane could be called in to bring them out. But that changed to an evacuation once Zeller’s helicopter arrived on the scene and the victims were found able to walk and sit upright.

Medics brought the first victim, Kyle Sellers, to Zeller’s helicopter and, with the two North Memorial medics also on board, Zeller flew them out.

“He said he didn’t feel that bad, but it turned out that was probably the shock," she said. "He had quite a few lacerations, and he ended up having a fractured pelvis, I think. And he was hypothermic. The medical staff on board really knew their stuff. They were keeping him calm. It was fairly windy that night and it was a pretty bumpy ride and, when I found out he had injuries, I’m thinking, man he must have been hurting.”

She dropped her passengers off at the Ely airport and the North Memorial helicopter flew Sellers to Duluth for treatment.

Back in for the second victim

Meanwhile, Zeller topped off her fuel and then flew back to Curtain Falls to pick up the second victim, Erik Grams. (A fifth member of the canoe party, Jared Lohse, 33, of Cambridge, Minnesota, did not require any assistance.)

“He (Erik Grams) was in a little better shape than the first guy. But he was also hypothermic and ended up having some injury issues as well, so they took him to the Ely hospital,” Zeller said.

The canoeists, all experienced and all familiar with the area, had been fishing above the falls, where Crooked Lake tumbles down 30 feet into Iron Lake, before the accident occurred around 4 p.m. Amid the rain-swollen river, the paddlers got too close and were unable to fight the power of the water, capsized and were pulled underwater.

While Erik Grams and Kyle Sellers were lucky to have survived their near-downing, and while both ended up recovering completely, they are still marked by the loss of their two canoeing partners — a friend and a brother — who did not survive.

The St. Louis County Rescue Squad, with help from numerous agencies, including a Chinook helicopter from the Air National Guard, eventually found the body of missing canoeist Jesse Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, Minnesota, on May 31. The second victim, Reis Grams, 40, of Lino Lakes, Minnesota, was found June 3. It took a combined 6,000 hours of work by the all-volunteer squad.

Erik Grams told Minnesota Public Radio that the survivors are now working to move on with their lives. That includes going back to the Boundary Waters, where they plan to return to Curtain Falls next year on the anniversary of his brother’s death.

“This isn’t going to stop the love and passion for nature and the outdoors,” Grams told MPR. “That’s the way that Reis and Jesse would want it.”

From the mountains to Minnesota

For her part, Zeller said the into-the-dark rescue in the rugged, remote stretch of northern Minnesota “was definitely the most rewarding flight I've ever done.”

Zeller, who grew up in Cody, Wyoming, just outside Yellowstone National Park, cut her helicopter teeth flying in Oregon, California, and giving tourists rides over the Grand Canyon. She came to Minnesota in January 2022 to take the DNR job that offered fun flying opportunities with a natural resource focus, two of her passions.

She’s been a pilot for a decade and has more than 1,000 hours flying turbine helicopters like the Little Bird.

“I knew Minnesota was going to be flatter,” Zeller said with a laugh. “But it still has a lot of outdoor opportunities. It’s been a great job so far.”

]]>

Rescue squad continues search for Boundary Waters paddlers

John Myers — Mon, 20 May 2024 16:33:55 GMT

IRON LAKE, Minn. — Crews continued to search Monday, May 20, for two Minnesota men who have been missing since their canoe went over Curtain Falls in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on Saturday evening.

Missing are Jesse Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, and Reis Grams, 40, of Lino Lakes.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office Rescue Squad was using airborne drones and remotely operated underwater vehicles in the search along the Minnesota/Ontario border where Crooked Lake flows into Iron Lake, far from the nearest road or developed area.

Most paddlers consider Curtain Falls too dangerous to attempt to paddle through, instead opting to use a land portage to carry canoes and gear around the falls. Several other incidents have happened at the site over the years.

“Rapid water conditions are making for difficult searching conditions, however crews on the group continue to push forward to continue the search area and expand it as needed,’’ the sheriff’s office said in a report Monday morning.

The accident was reported at about 7:21 p.m. Saturday when a caller said two canoes had gone over Curtain Falls with one person badly injured.

Just after midnight Sunday, a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources helicopter was used to airlift one injured person out of the scene. Kyle Sellers, 47, of Ham Lake, Minnesota, was taken to Essentia-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Two other people in the group were uninjured.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service has closed parts of the BWCAW to keep people away from the search area. All trails, campsites, portages, rivers and lakes in the area of Iron Lake are closed until further notice, including but not limited to Iron Lake, the LaCroix-Bottle and LaCroix-Iron portages and Crooked Lake west of Sunday Bay.

]]>

Northern Minn. man dies in single-vehicle crash

Staff reports — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 20:07:55 GMT

MEADOWLANDS, Minn. — A 25-year-old man was found dead on Sunday morning at the scene of a flipped-over vehicle in a water-filled ditch on County Highway 7 south of County Highway 133 in Meadowlands Township, according to a report from the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.

Zachary Nicholas Johnson, of Culver, was the only occupant of the vehicle when he was found dead at 8:55 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 29. The incident remains under investigation by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office and St. Louis Sheriff's Office.

]]>

5-year-old killed in rollover crash in St. Louis County

Staff reports — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 16:39:24 GMT

MARKHAM, Minn. — A 5-year-old child is dead after a one-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon near the Whiteface Reservoir.

According to a news release from the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, deputies were dispatched to a report of an iPhone crash alert at 3:53 p.m. in the area of Vermilion Trail and Harris Bay Road in Unorganized Township 55R14, near Markham, about a 45-minute drive north of Duluth.

The sheriff's office said a citizen who stopped to help called to report that a child was stuck under a vehicle after the vehicle had rolled onto its side. The sheriff's office said road conditions had packed ice due to the recent snowfall and freezing temperatures.

The child was pronounced dead at the scene. An adult driver and another child were also in the vehicle. Both were transported by ambulance to Essentia Health Northern Pines Hospital in Aurora with minor injuries.

The sheriff's office was assisted by the Minnesota State Patrol, Colvin Fire Department, Elsburg Fire Department, Hoyt Lakes Ambulance, Palo First Responders, North Memorial Air Medical, St. Louis County Rescue Squad, St. Louis County Chaplain and the Midwest Medical Examiners Office.

The crash remains under investigation.

]]>

2 vehicles hit moose on Highway 53 in St. Louis County, injuring teen

Staff reports — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 16:14:13 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Minn. — A moose entering U.S. Highway 53 about 10 miles south of Eveleth on Saturday night led to two crashes, another vehicle swerving into the ditch and one teenager with serious injuries being airlifted from the scene, according to reports from the Minnesota State Patrol and St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay.

At about 8:50 p.m. Saturday evening, a Kia Forte and a Buick Encore were both traveling north on Highway 53 near milepost 52. A moose entered the roadway causing the Kia, driven by Joseph Paul Aho, a 16-year-old from Britt, to make a direct impact, causing heavy damage to the car.

The Kia's passenger, Katelyn Elizabeth Johnson, a 16-year-old from Gilbert, was airlifted to Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth. No report on her condition was available at the time of publishing, though the State Patrol listed her injuries as non-life-threatening.

The moose was hit a second time by a Buick Encore driven by a 17-year-old from Mountain Iron. The Encore didn't make contact with any other vehicles, only with the moose in the road, according to the State Patrol report. Neither driver nor passenger of the Encore was seriously injured in the incident.

A third vehicle, a GMC Terrain driven by a 43-year-old from Aurora, also swerved into the ditch to avoid hitting the moose and/or the other vehicles.

"We’re seeing the annual increase in vehicle vs. deer and moose crashes this time of year. Keep this in mind if you’re out and about driving at higher speeds as the impacts from hitting these animals can cause life changing damage and injuries — in an instant," Ramsay wrote on his Facebook page. "Our thoughts are with this individual and their loved ones."

]]>

Worker dies in northern Minnesota gravel pit

Dylan Sherman — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 22:40:38 GMT

CLOQUET, Minn. — A 40-year-old man was found dead by his co-workers at a Northland Construction gravel pit at 2:53 p.m. Wednesday.

Brad Lewis Wojtysiak, of Culver Township, was found dead after performing maintenance on a conveyor at the gravel pit near state Highway 33 and Sunset Lake Drive, according to a St. Louis County Sheriff's Office news release.

While other workers were in the area, Wojtysiak was alone at the time of the incident and it appears to be an industrial accident.

The death is being investigated by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

St. Louis County supervising deputy Wade Rasch said aspects of the conveyor were running, not the conveyor itself, when the incident occurred.

"Typically, power would be cut off to a piece of equipment before it is being serviced," he said. "That is what is being looked into then, how exactly that scenario was happening."

The Cloquet Area Fire Department's heavy rescue team responded and assisted with the recovery.

]]>

Victims identified in Rice Lake motorcycle crash

Staff reports — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 19:15:40 GMT

RICE LAKE — Two men riding motorcycles were killed late Thursday following a collision involving a truck.

Jacob Allan Laurion, 42, of the city of Rice Lake, and Steven John Koslucher, 50, of Canosia Township, were riding separate motorcycles and were pronounced dead at the scene, a St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office news release said Friday.

The crash involved a truck driven by a 28-year-old woman, and authorities investigating the crash said there are independent witnesses. According to initial investigation reports from the Minnesota State Patrol and St. Louis County Sheriff's office, there were no signs of impairment or distraction by the driver of the truck.

The truck was traveling west on East Calvary Road, while the motorcyclists were coming from the east. The crash, near the intersection of Fourth Avenue South, took place at a curve in the road, the sheriff’s office said, and was reported at 9:05 p.m. Initial evidence indicates at least one motorcycle had traveled into the oncoming lane.

The Minnesota State Patrol and sheriff’s office are investigating.

Rice Lake Fire Department, St. Louis County Rescue Squad, University of Minnesota Police and the Duluth Police Department responded and assisted at the scene.

This story was updated at 2:15 p.m. July 1 to add the names of the victims. It was originally posted at 8:27 a.m. July 1.

]]>

BCA identifies northeast Minnesota man killed in officer-involved shooting

Duluth News Tribune — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 22:51:03 GMT

CHISHOLM, Minn. — The man who was killed in an officer-involved shooting Wednesday has been identified as Michael David Johnson, 38, of Chisholm, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office announced Friday.

Johnson died of multiple gunshot wounds outside his home at 201 Central Ave. S. in Chisholm while law enforcement officers from several departments attempted to take him into custody on multiple felony charges out of Morrison County.

During the confrontation, which began at about 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, Johnson came out of his home with knives in his hands, according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the incident. Officers responded by first firing non-lethal foam impact rounds, and then deployed lethal rounds from firearms, which struck and killed Johnson. He died at the scene. No officers were hurt in the incident.

The BCA identified the three officers who discharged their weapons as deputies Cody Dillinger and Gavin Nichols of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office and Officer Nick Grivna of the Virginia Police Department. Dillinger and Grivna fired their department handguns, and Nichols fired non-lethal foam impact rounds. All three officers are on standard administrative leave pending the BCA's investigation.

Grivna used lethal force in a November 2018 incident, where he was found justified by the BCA in fatally shooting J. Scot Alan Widmark, who forced a woman from a car with a knife before holding another man hostage as a human shield. Grivna has been with the Virginia Police Department for eight years.

The BCA stated two knives were recovered near Johnson's body by crime scene personnel. Body cameras and squad video recorders captured footage of the incident.

The search for Johnson began in the Hibbing and Chisholm areas at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. Johnson's unoccupied vehicle was located at 7:15 a.m. outside his home.

Investigation of the incident is ongoing. The BCA will present its findings without recommendation to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office for review when the investigation is complete.

]]>