Ranger Steve Pederson was patrolling the Highway 70 Landing on January 14th when he came upon a mini-van with a plastic hose leading from the exhaust pipe to the rear door. When Pederson tried to contact the driver, he fled. Pederson was able to stop the van on Highway 70 and detained the driver for Burnett County sheriff’s deputies. They identified the 34-year-old driver and found he was the subject of a be-on-the-lookout message from Ramsey County, Minnesota. He was taken to Burnett County Medical Center in Grantsburg, stabilized, and then taken to the Cumberland Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.
