Bemidji man arrested in connection to attempted abduction at Cameron Park
Jul. 1—BEMIDJI — A Bemidji man has been arrested in connection to an attempted abduction that occurred on Sunday, June 26, in Bemidji.
Michael Petersen, 21, of Bemidji, was arrested on Friday, July 1, after being identified as a suspect in connection to an alleged attempted abduction that occurred on Sunday evening in Cameron Park.
According to an initial release from Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin, at 6:25 p.m. on June 26, officers were dispatched to the area of Cameron Park on a report of an attempted abduction.
Upon arrival, officers spoke with two juvenile females who explained they were walking down the paved entrance road into Cameron Park when they were approached by a younger male who asked them to walk into the woods to look at a snake.
As the girls spoke with him they became nervous and began to walk away, the release said. He followed them, and at one point he wrapped his arm around one of the girls and attempted to pick her up.
Both girls started to scream, which caused the male to let go and run away from the area to the northwest, the release continued.
According to an updated release from Bemidji Police Captain David LaZella on Friday, detectives identified Petersen as a suspect, he was then arrested and taken into custody.
The Bemidji Police Department was assisted in the investigation by the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Bemidji State University.
