DETROIT LAKES, Minn.-Detroit Lakes police are looking for two men who they believe may have the answers in the mysterious death of a 32-year-old Detroit Lakes man and they're seeking the public's help in figuring out who they are.
Officers received a call on Feb. 10 from an apartment manager and maintenance man at apartments at 1035 Roosevelt Ave., said Detroit Lakes police Detective Robert Strand.
"They hadn't seen (one of the residents) for a while, and so they went and did a welfare check, and found him," said Strand, referring to the man inside, a 32-year-old male, who was dead.
"He appeared to have died of natural causes, but it was alarming, too, because he was only 32 years old and 32-year-olds don't usually just die, so we sent him in for an autopsy," said Strand, who says at this point in the investigation they are not releasing the man's name. He will say, though, that they know very little about him.
"He was new to Detroit Lakes-he had only been here a few weeks," Strand said. He suspects the man may have been homeless before coming to Detroit Lakes. "We know he has some family in Grand Forks and that it looks like he spent some time in Fargo."
ADVERTISEMENT
Strand said nothing was found in the apartment that seemed suspicious, so officers weren't anticipating anything other than natural causes until they got the autopsy report back.
"This one came through as a heroin overdose," Strand said. Officers are now going deeper into this because no drugs were found at the scene, he said.
"And drug overdoses are pretty instant," he said, "so that leaves us with some questions."
One of those questions is, who are the two men captured on apartment complex video with the man, now deceased, on Feb. 7-the date officers are estimating he may have died.
"They were with him-they were one of the last two people to have contact with him," Strand said. "There was nothing in the apartment to indicate an overdose or that there was any drug use there, so that raises some questions that hopefully they (the two men in the video) can provide us the answers to."
Officers are asking for the public's help in identifying the two men. If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, they are asked to contact Strand at (218) 846-3204 or email him at rstrand@ci.detroit-lakes.mn.us .
