Bemidji girl, 5, found alive after fire, suspect jailed
Updated: 3:15 p.m. | Posted: 10:10 a.m.
Five-year-old Brittany Rose Balcer was found alive early Thursday morning in a pop-up camper north of Bemidji.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin said finding the missing girl came after a 24-hour, emotionally-charged investigation.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
"To get her back alive," he said. "We couldn't ask for a better result."
Balcer went missing after a mobile home fire on the northern edge of Bemidji. At 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Bemidji Fire Department responded to a call at the Hillcrest Manor trailer park. By the time crews got there, the trailer was fully engulfed.
Balcer was staying with a family friend, Mastin said, but when crews searched the charred debris, they found just one adult body.
Dozens of volunteers and state and local law enforcement searched deep in the woods and swamps that surround the burned trailer home Wednesday, but could not find Balcer.
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Special Agent Sue Burggraf said the investigation pointed detectives toward a local man who served time in 2013 on child pornography charges. The suspect came to the police station on his own Wednesday after investigators called him.
Burggraf said investigators used the suspect's phone to locate the camper in the woods north of Bemidji, near the small town of Bigfork, where Balcer was found.
The suspect is in custody at the Beltrami County jail on kidnapping charges.
"It became apparent that we had a homicide," Burggraf said.
Mastin believes the suspect acted alone, but declined to comment on whether the suspect actually committed the homicide, or lit the fire.
"This continues to be a complex and ongoing investigation," he said.
Balcer was taken to a medical facility and reunited with her family. Mastin said she is safe, but could not comment further on her condition.
The body found in the burned trailer home was turned over to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. Mastin said investigators are waiting to identify the body before formally charging the suspect.