Woman who died after going missing in White Bear Lake identified as Metro Transit police sergeant
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Authorities say a woman who died after going missing in the waters of White Bear Lake on Sunday afternoon was a Metro Transit police sergeant.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said 40-year-old Beverly Rodriguez of Woodbury went into the water from a boat on the east side of the lake and did not resurface. Sheriff’s officials told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that Rodriguez apparently fell off the back of a pontoon boat amid gusty winds and high waves on the lake. Another person on the boat went to get a lifejacket, but then couldn’t find Rodriguez in the water.
Rodriguez was underwater for about 40 minutes before a dive team located her. She later died at a hospital. The sheriff’s office is investigating what happened.
Rodriguez joined the Metro Transit Police Department in 2017 and led its Homeless Action Team — a unit focused on reaching and helping people experiencing homelessness. The unit has helped hundreds of people find more-stable housing since its inception in 2018.
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In a statement, Metro Transit said Rodriguez “exemplified the very best of public service through her tireless dedication” to the Homeless Action Team, also known as HAT.
“She approached this challenging work not merely as a job, but as a calling — bringing both her professional expertise, boundless empathy, and her generous spirit to serve those experiencing homelessness,” the agency said. “Her legacy lives on in her colleagues in HAT, in every person she helped find housing, every crisis she helped resolve with patience rather than force, and every example she set of what it means to serve with both strength and compassion.”
Rodriguez spoke last year to MPR News about her work and the rise in homelessness.
“There’s just a ton of folks sleeping on the trains because that’s what they got on early in the morning, after they got kicked out of the shelters, and so I’m just trying to provide resources,” she said.
She said initially they are hesitant to talk to her because she is in full uniform.
“They think I’m just going to kick them off the train, but then when I start interacting with them, asking if they’re OK, what I can help them with, what resources are available for them, they completely change their demeanor and a lot of them are very receptive,” she said.
Rodriguez spoke about her work in a Metro Transit video in February 2024.
“Our main priority is to help folks get off the trains and into some type of program, or into some type of housing (or) shelter,” she said, noting it could be difficult to serve not just as a police officer but also in many ways as a social worker.
“The folks that are on this unit definitely have a calling and they have a passion for the work that they do,” she said.
Rodriguez was also a longtime member of the National Latino Peace Officers Association, serving on the Minnesota chapter’s board for more than a decade and also serving on the national board since 2021.
The group said that through her work leading the Homeless Action Team, Rodriguez “was able to help countless members of our communities, productively and compassionately. She will be forever remembered for her kindness, passion, humor, servant heart, athleticism and sense of adventure. She was a beloved friend whose impact will never be forgotten.”
The Minnesota chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association has established an online fundraiser for Rodriguez’s family.
