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• Hudson - Area woman pulled over by fake cop
• Hudson - O'Connell probe nears completion

By Meg Heaton

The police officer who pulled a Roberts woman over on Crest View Drive early Sunday morning may not have been a cop.

According to Hudson Police Sgt. Ed Rankin, the woman was pulled over around 2:30 a.m. by what she believed was a police car. The officer approached her vehicle and asked if she had been drinking. The woman said no, that she was serving as the designated driver for the two passengers in her car who had been drinking. The woman said the man identified himself as "Officer Dave" and appeared to be in a dark uniform but she was not sure if he was wearing a gun or other police gear.

She said the man took her license to run a check and kept it for almost 20 minutes. When he came back he said her record was clear but that there was a problem with her car registration. He then let her go. The woman also saw a female in the passenger side of the alleged officer's vehicle.

On Monday the woman called the Department of Motor Vehicles to check on the problem with her registration and was told there was no problem. She then became suspicious and contacted the police department.

After the initial investigation, Rankin said the woman was not stopped by a HPD officer and that it appears the man who did was impersonating a policeman. The woman described the man as white, between 20-30 years of age, 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, clean-shaven with brown hair. Rankin said a check with Twin Cities authorities turned up a man matching that description who had been picked up for impersonating an officer. Rankin said they are following up on that arrest to see if it is the same man.

The woman said the car the alleged officer was driving was equipped with the kind of lights found on a squad car.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Rankin at (715) 386-4771.

By Meg Heaton

The Hudson Police Department may be nearing the end of its investigation into the murders of Dan O'Connell and James Ellison.

HPD Chief Dick Trende met with investigators Jeff Knopps and Shawn Pettee and others involved in the case earlier this week to review the information gathered over the three-year investigation.

Last year the investigation began to focus on Father Ryan Erickson's involvement in the case and in a separate investigation into his possible criminal activity involving minors. Erickson, who was an associate pastor at St. Patrick's Church at the time of the murders, committed suicide last December after being questioned about both investigations. He allegedly denied any wrongdoing to friends and in suicide notes he left behind.

Trende said significant information in both investigations has surfaced in recent weeks that has confirmed the department's interest in Erickson, and investigators have been spending time verifying it. Knopps said most of the people they have contacted have cooperated with them, and this has led to new or corroborating information.

Anyone with information relating to the O'Connell or Erickson investigations should contact the Hudson Police Department at (715) 386-4771.

For more inforamtion, see the March 31 issue of the Star-Observer.

Meg Heaton can be reached at mheaton@rivertowns.net.