St. Louis County Jail inmate Darrin Tiessen dies days after welfare check

Darrin John Tiessen, 35, was pronounced dead at a hospital on Jan. 30 after deputies found him unresponsive in his cell during an early-morning welfare check three days earlier, county officials reported. The timeline raises fresh questions about custody health care and oversight at the St. Louis County Jail.

Tiessen was booked into the St. Louis County Jail on Jan. 25 on an active arrest warrant issued by the Sixth Judicial District Court after a failure to appear at a prior hearing. In the early hours of Jan. 27, a correctional officer conducting a welfare check found Tiessen unresponsive in a single-occupancy cell at approximately 1:05 a.m. Staff immediately began emergency care.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said, "Staff immediately began life-saving measures, including CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator, and were able to obtain a heartbeat." EMS transported Tiessen to a nearby hospital for advanced medical care, but he "did not regain consciousness" and was pronounced dead three days after he was found.

The sheriff's office said it has requested that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conduct an independent investigation into Tiessen’s death. That request will shift investigative authority to a statewide agency and means autopsy and toxicology results, if performed, will likely be released through the BCA timeline rather than solely by local officials.

Local officials have previously asked the BCA to review in-custody deaths, and county residents and policymakers will watch this probe for clarity on cause and any institutional factors. At this stage no cause of death, hospital name, autopsy findings, or toxicology results have been released publicly, and the identities of staff involved in the response have not been disclosed.

For St. Louis County residents, the incident touches on several civic concerns: the transparency of corrections operations funded by local taxpayers, procedures for medical response and monitoring in single-occupancy cells, and how booking and warrant-processing intersect with public safety. The Sixth Judicial District Court’s role in issuing the warrant that brought Tiessen into custody two days earlier also highlights how routine court and booking processes can lead to sudden, high-stakes custodial events.

The BCA investigation and any subsequent medical examiner reports will be central to understanding what happened and whether policy or operational changes are warranted. County leaders and the Sheriff’s Office will face questions about reporting practices, accountability, and whether current oversight mechanisms adequately protect people in custody. Those findings will determine the next steps for both officials and the community as the public seeks transparent answers about Tiessen’s death.