Sex offender caught hours after escape from St. Peter facility, police say
Police say the search is over for a patient who escaped overnight Friday from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program facility in St. Peter.
The patient, a 45-year-old man, left the facility at about 1:30 a.m. on a black Specialized bike, police say. They believed he was armed with a 3-inch, orange-handled kitchen knife.
Police announced he was captured just after 7 a.m. It's not clear where he was caught, or if he was indeed armed.
"We would like to thank the public, particularly the citizen who spotted him and notified law enforcement this morning," police wrote in a statement.
St. Peter is about 70 miles southwest of Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services oversees the state's sex offender treatment program. WCCO has reached out to the department for comment and is awaiting a reply.
This is the second time in about four months that a sex offender escaped a state facility. A patient escaped a Rochester facility in late December 2024. He was later captured about 2.5 miles away.
This is a developing story. Stay with WCCO.com for more.
Sexual Assault Resources
- (SOS – Ramsey County)
- Sexual Violence Center (SVC – Hennepin County)
- Aurora Center (U of MN)
- 360 Communities (Dakota County)
- Hope Center (Rice County)
- Canvas Health (Washington County)
- Alexandra House (Anoka County)
General Sites for information related to sexual assault and resources throughout Minnesota:
General Sexual Assault Websites:
