Child located safely after multi-agency search on Fond du Lac Reservation

A 10-year-old girl who went missing on Monday evening was safely located early Tuesday morning after an extensive search involving multiple law enforcement agencies and rescue teams.

The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 7:42 p.m. on Sept. 2nd from a grandmother reporting that her granddaughter had gone for a walk with her two dogs and had not returned. The search was launched in the western Cloquet area on the Fond du Lac Reservation.

The search operation included officers from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, Fond du Lac Tribal Police, and other neighboring law enforcement agencies. The St. Louis County Rescue Squad used K9 units, drones, and aircraft equipped with heat-sensing technology. The squad’s “SHERP,” an amphibious all-terrain vehicle, was also utilized in the search.

The girl was found at 12:21 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 3rd with only minor scratches and was otherwise unharmed. She was then reunited with her family.

The search effort was supported by several agencies, including the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, St. Louis County Emergency Management, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Arrowhead Regional Corrections, and the Fond du Lac Conservation Department. These organizations are active members of the regional Child Abduction Response Team (CART). The Minnesota State Patrol and Fond du Lac Communications Division also provided assistance.

The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office expressed gratitude to the community members who reached out to first responders and aided in the search effort.