Sheriff Ramsay and County Attorney Maki Announce Michael Todd Hart Release

St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay and County Attorney Kim Maki issued a joint statement to “correct the record regarding the release of Inmate Michael Todd Hart from the Itasca County Jail,” saying the County Attorney’s Office “played no role in his release.”

The county release, dated January 30, 2026, also says the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office took steps to keep Hart in custody and “Filed a Complaint, issued as a warrant charging Mr. Hart ...” The released excerpt does not include the full list of actions or the specific charges referenced by St. Louis County.

Itasca County, through a separate news release quoted by the Mesabi Tribune, said the opposite. Itasca County wrote that “Without a valid warrant or official hold from St. Louis County, Itasca County had no legal authority to continue holding Hart in custody.” The Itasca release added, “Hart was released in accordance with the law. This situation is the direct result of decisions made by St. Louis County Attorney’s Office. At all times, the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office acted appropriately, lawfully, and within its legal authority.” Itasca’s statement also said that “Hart escaped from the St. Louis County Northeast Regional Corrections Center (NERCC) facility while facing multiple charges related to crimes against persons.”

The factual sequence the two counties agree on is limited. Michael Todd Hart escaped from the St. Louis County NERCC Saginaw facility on September 23, 2025, prompting an intense search in the Independence area in which he was not located. Later, the Lake Superior Violent Offenders Task Force (LSVOTF) received information Hart was back on the Iron Range, and members of LSVOTF, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Aitkin Itasca Mille Lacs VCET, and the Itasca County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in Cohasset and arrested Hart. Hart was later released from the Itasca County Jail on January 21, 2026, and the competing statements followed on January 30.

The conflicting official accounts present a governance and public-safety issue for St. Louis County residents. One county asserts it had no legal authority to hold Hart without a St. Louis County warrant; the other asserts its county attorney acted to keep him in custody. Resolving which account reflects the operational record requires review of complaint filings, warrant forms, jail booking and release logs, and any inter-county hold or transfer paperwork.

For media inquiries and county comment, St. Louis County listed Wade Backstrom as its media contact at 218-726-2323 or backstromw@stlouiscountymn.gov. St. Louis County administrative offices also list phone contacts for Duluth at (218) 726-2000, Ely at (218) 365-2399, Hibbing at (218) 312-8100, and Virginia at (218) 749-7100.

What happens next matters to residents: transparency about warrants and jail procedures affects public confidence and the integrity of prosecutions across county lines. Officials can clarify the record by releasing the full complaints, warrants, and Itasca County jail logs that governed Hart’s custody status between the Cohasset arrest and his January 21 release.