No charges brought in death of BSU student

Beltrami County prosecutors won't bring charges against anyone in the death of Bemidji State University student Sandra Lommen, who police say was served alcohol at a party in early December.

Lommen, a 20-year-old nursing student, left a Bemidji house party at 2 a.m. on Dec. 10. She intended to walk to her dorm room, but had been drinking and never made it there, police said.

Later that morning, Lommen was found unconscious in the woods on the outskirts of Bemidji, smelling of alcohol. She died of hypothermia shortly after.

Police Chief Mike Mastin said his detectives put months of effort into the case, hoping to bring charges against those who served alcohol to Lommen. Serving an alcoholic beverage to a minor is a gross misdemeanor, he said.

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On Friday, the County Attorney's Office told Mastin there wasn't enough evidence to pursue charges.

"They are declining charges on those that we felt were most responsible," Mastin said, "so there won't be charges against anyone who furnished alcohol."

The case hinged on evidence gathered from social media, Mastin said. Detectives subpoenaed Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts from half a dozen people who attended the house party that night.

They hoped to get photo evidence of someone serving alcohol to Lommen, but simply obtaining access to the posts took more than a month.

Even with access, Mastin said, social media evidence is difficult to use to make a case. Rumors circulate rapidly and Twitter accounts pop up and disappear too fast to document, he said.

"We just can't prove who did it," he said. "Sometimes when you can't prove it, you feel like you haven't done your job."

A month after Lommen's death another BSU student, 19-year-old Hannah Rolschau, was found suffering from hypothermia after a night of drinking.

Rolschau survived, but Bemidji police brought a similar social media-based case against the people they believe served her alcohol. They're waiting to hear if the county attorney will press charges.