Man who allegedly ran from St. Cloud police found dead in park a day later

Police say a man who allegedly ran away from officers Monday after giving a false identity was found dead Tuesday morning in a St. Cloud park.

According to the St. Cloud Police Department, someone reported seeing the body just before 8 a.m. by a path in Heritage Park. Officers responding to the scene determined the man was dead; he also matched the description of a suspect who had crossed paths with police the day before.

Around 4 p.m. Monday, St. Cloud police encountered a man in a parking lot near Heritage Park after receiving a report of someone using drugs in a vehicle. Officers approached a man in a vehicle who said he didn’t have his ID. Police say officers suspected the man was “providing false information regarding his identity.”

When officers told the man he was under arrest, the suspect ran away. Police say an attempt to apprehend him with a Taser didn’t work, and the suspect climbed over a fence and into a wooded area of Heritage Park. It was unclear from the St. Cloud Police Department’s news release whether the Taser actually struck the suspect.

Police set up a perimeter around the park and attempted to search for the suspect with a drone but did not find him.

Because the deceased man matched the description of the suspect during Monday’s interaction, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation into his death. The man’s name and cause of death will be released at a later time.