New Details on Brainerd AMBER Alert; wife, children safe

BRAINERD, Minn. – Authorities say a man is in custody after allegedly kidnapping a pregnant woman and her four children, prompting an AMBER Alert near Brainerd Friday morning. The victims were unharmed.

The pregnant victim’s mother said she was in Duluth while her husband received medical treatment when she heard the news.

Early on, authorities feared the worst, assuming her daughter and grandchildren were dead in the burning house. The mother said the statewide Amber Alert started with 35-year-old Chad Aanerud attacking her daughter at the family home.

Some children went to get help. That’s when she said a neighbor, 62-year-old Lyle Maske, arrived and was shot by Aanerud in the driveway.

“When I saw my daughter, she was beaten up, he is very traumatized,” said the victim’s mother.

She said her daughter and Aanerud were ex-partners, and that her daughter is pregnant with Aanerud’s child.

While the family is grateful the victims escaped the ordeal, they lost the home they all shared

Around 7:15 a.m., authorities stopped Aanerud’s vehicle in Morrison County. He was arrested and the woman and children were found unharmed in the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities identified the fatally shot victim as 62-year-old Lyle Maske. Authorities say both the shooting and kidnapping are under investigation.

The sheriff’s office said Aanerud is also suspected of setting fire to a house on the property where the fatal shooting occurred.

The mother said Aanerud then set the house on fire and ran off with the victims.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension later confirmed that the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office had canceled the AMBER Alert and thanked everyone who assisted in the search.

You can read VNL’s original account of the story here.