Woman arrested after fatal fire, arson investigation in Bemidji

Authorities say a woman was arrested in the Twin Cities in connection with a fatal fire that happened Tuesday in Bemidji.

The Beltrami County 911 center responded to a camping trailer fire on the 4700 block of Allens Bay Drive Southeast near Cass Lake, about 12 miles southeast of Bemidji, around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The Beltrami County Sheriff’s office reported that the camping trailer was fully engulfed when first responders arrived on the scene. When the Cass Lake Fire Department extinguished the fire, human remains were discovered inside the camper.

Investigators learned that a woman had ignited the fire and fled the scene.

The sheriff’s office said a 34-year-old woman from Bena, Minnesota, was arrested in Brooklyn Center on Wednesday in relation to the fire. She is being held pending criminal charges.

The body was taken to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the victim’s identity and cause of death.