When investigators with a search warrant “swarmed” Dan Hansen’s farm north of Wadena looking for human remains Monday, Hansen blamed his estranged brother, Akeley police chief Jimmy Hansen, for the accusations.
Jimmy Hansen learned of this Monday when he received a call from Hubbard County dispatch, who’d been contacted by Wadena County.
Jimmy Hansen was contacted by The Forum but he declined comment because it was an ongoing investigation that is out of his jurisdiction. He deferred the matter to the Wadena County sheriff’s department.
The Akeley police chief subsequently began his own investigation, obtaining “call for service” documents from Wadena County. He learned the primary complainant was Dan Hansen’s niece, Jennifer Anderson of Eagle Bend.
Anderson’s brother, who is Dan Hansen’s nephew, Elijah Hansen of Pillager, was also named as a complainant. The “call for service” document is dated Aug. 4, 2014.
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It’s not clear what precipitated this week’s search.
Jimmy Hansen speculates additional information possibly triggered the warrant.
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Read More on This:
Aug. 27, 2015: Wadena farmer on human remains report: "You've got to be kidding." - Click here
Aug. 26, 2015: Bone fragments found on farm near Wadena - Click here
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The site of the search was home to a zoo for 25 years, Jimmy Hansen said.
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Tigers, bears, lions and other animals inhabited the property which was owned by his parents. Three to five cows were butchered weekly to feed the animals. There are bones all over the property, Jimmy Hansen said of disposal.
This was before the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency regulated such operations, he said. The Hansen brothers have been estranged for more than 20 years, Jimmy said.
“He’s called so many bogus reports in on me and my wife…” Dan Hansen was quoted as saying in the Forum News Service article.
But Jimmy Hansen denies this. “Dan was arrested in the past by law enforcement for active warrants,” he said Thursday. “But they were not related to me or the city of Akeley.”
According to a press release issued by the Wadena County Sheriff’s Department Tuesday morning, the search was conducted at the farm located at 11441 Leaf River Road in Leaf River Township “to look for human remains at said location.”
The release from Investigator Amy Ament states, “Contrary to erroneous media reports, the human remains being sought do not involve Jacob Wetterling or Carla Anderson.
Numerous bone fragments were found and have been sent in for analysis concerning the origin of the items found. “This is an ongoing investigation and as such, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes prohibiting information disclosure of ongoing investigations, no further comments will be made at this time,” the release concludes.
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By Jean Ruzicka
