MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities are looking for a suspect in the north Twin Cities metro after a man committed an armed robbery and fled the scene on a snowmobile.
The Chisago County Sheriff’s Office was called at about 7:34 p.m. Monday to Tim’s Country Cupboard in Center City on a report of an armed robbery. The suspect walked into the business, threatened an employee with a gun and fled the store with an undisclosed amount of money.
The suspect left the store on a snowmobile at a high rate of speed, authorities said.
“The clerk said the person got away on a snowmobile which is unique. We don’t get too many robberies with snowmobiles,” said Chisago County Sheriff Rick Duncan. “Snowmobiles are not the most reliable vehicles. I’ve owned a few, seems like you are always working on them to get them to run.”
Officers followed the snowmobile but eventually lost it as it went deeper into a few local trails.
“We were able to follow the tracks out of Stacy, into Anoka County. We lost it about three or four miles into Anoka County, that’s where it opened up into a whole bunch of trails,” Duncan said.
During the investigation, sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at a residence where they believed the suspect was.
At the residence, authorities found stolen snowmobiles and a stolen trailer, as well as items that were seized in connection with the robbery.
“The deputy went to one of these addresses and saw individuals loading a snowmobile on a trailer,” Duncan said. “When he turned and went back, the individuals were no longer by the trailer.”
Three people were detained, but they didn’t find the suspect. However, Duncan said they have a person of interest in the armed robbery.
Authorities said the suspect is described as a man wearing a tan jacket, a red ski mask and wearing dark snowmobile pants and boots. He was riding a snowmobile west of the scene that was red and appeared to be a 1990s model.
The sheriff’s office has obtained security video and will continue investigating the incident.
No arrests have been made, and anyone with information is asked to call the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office at (651) 213-6319.
