Aug 7, 2007 11:26 pm US/Central
Surveillance Pics Could Be Clue To Woman's Murder
by Jason DeRusha
Marysville Township, Minn. (WCCO) ―
Wright County investigators have released surveillance photos of a man they believe was involved in the homicide of a Marysville Township, Minn. woman. Deputies found Ruth Ouverson, 58, dead insider her home Saturday afternoon. Investigators said it's possible she was killed Friday.
Ouverson lived with her husband, Doug, but investigators said that he was out of the state at the time of the homicide, at the Sturgis motorcycle festival in South Dakota.
Wright County Sheriff's Deputies are not sharing much information about the crime. They have said they got a call from a friend Saturday morning, because Ruth Ouverson didn't show up for an appointment. According to a news release, a deputy checked the exterior of the home and "found nothing unusual."
Later that day, deputies got a call from one of Ouverson's family members, who went inside the home and found Ouverson dead.
On Tuesday night, investigators from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state's crime lab, were inside the home, searching for more evidence.
The surveillance photos show a man apparently in his 20s, with dark hair, a beard and a goatee, inside a gas station convenience store. Deputies declined to indicate where the surveillance pictures are from.
The man was also photographed driving the victim's 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Investigators are still looking for that dark blue vehicle with Minnesota license plates HVT-377.
The crime scene has put the entire neighborhood on edge.
"I'm very surprised," said Roger Weege, a neighbor of Ouverson. "We've never run into anything crime-wise like this so close."
Weege said his wife is not leaving their home while he's away.
"She's now staying inside, locking the door, because I'm not home. She says she hasn't come out all day," he said.
On Wednesday night, many who live near Montrose, Minn. and in Marysville Township gathered for National Night Out.
"I truly couldn't even believe it," said Patty Betzler. "It's just not that kind of community at all."
Ouverson was the coordinator of Early Childhood Education programs for the Rockford Area School District. According to the school's Web site, Ouverson started teaching early childhood classes 37 years ago.
She was hired to develop Rockford's ECFE program in 1986. On the district's Web site Ouverson wrote, "Although I am in the sunset years of my career, my passion for working with families/children/staff is stronger than ever."
Investigators want anyone with information on the surveillance photos or the missing Jeep to call the Wright County Sheriff's Office at 763-682-7622.
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