Three Juveniles Arrested After Short Vehicle Pursuit in Fergus Falls

A Fergus Falls homeowner found two strangers inside their residence Sunday evening, juveniles fleeing a four-agency manhunt after a vehicle pursuit on East Main Avenue had left a car abandoned and three young suspects on foot.

The incident began when Fergus Falls police attempted to stop a vehicle on the evening of March 29. The driver sped away, and officers gave chase for about one-tenth of a mile before terminating the pursuit because of the vehicle's speed and concerns for public safety. The car turned up abandoned in a driveway on East Cherry Avenue.

Officers from the Fergus Falls Police Department, Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota State Patrol, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources established a perimeter around the area. A Fergus Falls police K-9 team located one suspect, a 16-year-old girl. Residents reported that two of the other juveniles had slipped into an occupied home while fleeing but left after the homeowner confronted them. Officers then located the two remaining suspects, ages 14 and 15, elsewhere within city limits and took them into custody without incident. No injuries were reported.

Two of the three juveniles were transported to a detention facility in Moorhead; the third was released to a family member.

The Fergus Falls Police Department will submit the case to the Otter Tail County Attorney's Office for consideration of charges that could include motor vehicle theft, fleeing in a motor vehicle, fleeing on foot, and trespassing. Because all three suspects are juveniles, the county attorney will assess whether the case proceeds through juvenile court or is referred into Otter Tail County's Juvenile Diversion Program, which routes qualifying first-time offenders away from formal court and into supervised intervention through Otter Tail County Probation Services. The program's standard scope covers minor offenses including petty theft, meaning motor vehicle theft and fleeing charges carry more gravity than cases it typically handles. A juvenile court filing, with potential placement and restitution ordered by a judge, is the more probable outcome if the county attorney proceeds.

Across Minnesota, juvenile-only arrests accounted for 127 of the 842 motor vehicle theft cases cleared in 2024, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's annual crime report. Law enforcement agencies statewide have tied that number directly to unlocked vehicles with keys left inside. Fergus Falls police repeated that warning Sunday: remove keys and lock vehicles when not in use.