On August 12, 2025, at approximately 12:40 a.m., the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office assisted the Minnesota State Patrol with a driving complaint on I-94 near MM 174 In Lyden Township. While responding to the area, information was received that the involved vehicle had been reported stolen from Fargo, ND. The Jeep Wrangler was reported to be traveling westbound on Interstate 94 near St. Cloud. A St. Joseph Police Officer located the vehicle on Interstate 94 near the St. Joseph exit and began coordinating with other units to conduct a traffic stop. The St. Joseph Officer and a Stearns County Deputy initiated a traffic stop near Avon. The suspect vehicle did not stop and accelerated to a high rate of speed. The vehicle was pursued and subsequently exited the interstate in Albany, driving through multiple neighborhoods before returning to westbound Interstate 94. The suspect vehicle then exited in Freeport and continued northbound into St. Rosa. The suspect vehicle extinguished their lights and drove in the opposing lane of travel several times. The suspect vehicle continued through St. Rosa and then southbound on County Road 168. Spike strips were deployed and flattened several of the Wrangler’s tires. The operator then turned into a property in the 39000 block of County Road 168 and drove into a body of water. The occupants fled from responding law enforcement and further into the swamp area. A perimeter was established and K9 announcements to surrender were given. The occupants surrendered to law enforcement without further incident and were identified as Melissa Marie Torres, 32, of Moorhead and Jackson Paul Mulder, 21, of Valley City. They were transported to Melrose Hospital Emergency Trauma Center to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Torres was identified as the operator of the stolen Jeep Wrangler. Both Torres and Mulder had active arrest warrants. The pursuit was initiated by the St. Joseph Police Department, and their office will be handling charges related to the pursuit. Agencies involved in the pursuit were St. Joseph Police, Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, Waite Park Police, St. Cloud Police, Minnesota State Patrol, Melrose Police, Melrose Ambulance, and Sauk Centre Police.
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