LAKE PARK - Ginnie Donovan of Lake Park, Minn., was in the midst of a prayer service for her daughter Monday night when she got the call from the Minnesota State Patrol.
Two Hastings, Minn., residents had been arrested in the hit and run crash that killed 10-year-old Caylin Donovan of Lake Park, Minn., about 10 days ago on a highway on the shores of Lake Mille Lacs.
Arrested were Steven Lee Meier, 44, and Deborah Lynn Chandler, 45, after a tip from the public aided the Minnesota State Patrol investigation.
Following their arrests, Meier and Chandler were taken to the Aitkin County jail in Aitkin where they await formal charges by the Aitkin county attorney.
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“I can finally breathe again,” Donovan said late Monday night after learning of the arrests.
She said she didn’t know many of the details as she had only a short conversation with the State Patrol.
The funeral for her daughter will be today at 2 p.m. in Audubon, a small town next to Lake Park in northwest Minnesota.
Her daughter was struck and killed just before 8 p.m. on June 10 while walking on Minnesota Highway 18 on the shores of Mille Lacs Lake. She was staying with family at a home near the lake and was at the end of the home's driveway, possibly trying to get better reception for a cellphone, her mother has said.
The State Patrol continues to ask anyone who may have information about the case to call them at 218-316-3025.
The State Patrol is also asking for the public’s help in finding the vehicle involved in a separate hit-and-run crash that also occurred in Aitkin County the same day. Authorities believe 85-year-old Margaret Ann Johnson was struck and killed by a vehicle near her mailbox on the shoulder of Highway 47 approximately 3.5 miles east of Aitkin.
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By Barry Amundson, Forum News Service
