Body of missing Minnesota college student found in cornfield

ORANGE TOWNSHIP, Minn. – Riding high in a John Deere combine as he harvested a sprawling field of head-high corn, farmer Tom Grundman came to an unexpected stop. There, about 30 rows of corn from the nearest road, something wasn't right.

"We just left that field completely," said Grundman. Soon he was on the phone with local authorities, and a massive, two-week search for a missing 18-year-old college student came to a wrenching conclusion.

Authorities confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Grundman had found the body of Laura Ann Schwendemann, last seen nearly two weeks ago at a gas station in Alexandria.

Grundman, who was back working in his cornfields Tuesday afternoon, declined to say more about the discovery, citing the ongoing investigation.

No suspects have been named or arrested in connection with Schwendemann's death, and neither the cause nor the manner of her death was announced. But the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the public is not in any danger.

Schwendemann, a freshman at the University of Minnesota, Morris, who has lived in nearby Hancock and Starbuck, had been missing since the night of Oct. 14.

"Our focus is now why and how this young woman died," said Sheriff Troy Wolbersen. "We are aggressively pursuing the leads that we have, and believe that we are making active progress in solving this case."

A Sheriff's Office volunteer was stationed early Tuesday afternoon near the farm where her body was found and said numerous vehicles from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had spent at least two hours on the property, which is about 15 miles southeast of where Schwendemann was last seen.

The vehicles navigated into the farmland along a path that had been cut into the corn crop by a combine. Crime scene tape was strung up about 100 feet from the nearest road.

Beth Aaberg, an aunt of Schwendemann's, wrote late Monday on a Facebook page dedicated to the young woman, "We all prayed so hard for a much better outcome. … We all wanted to find Laura safe … this wasn't to be. … Laura Schwendemann was found today and our family will bring her home and lay her to rest."

A vigil in Schwendemann's memory is scheduled for Wednesday night in Starbuck at Fron Lutheran Church, a church staff member said. The Schwendemanns belong to a sister church, Immanuel Lutheran, also in Starbuck. The Rev. Paul Johnson, who serves both churches, will speak.

Schwendemann's fellow college students and others on campus received an e-mail Tuesday morning from Sandra Olson-Loy, vice chancellor for student affairs. "We are very saddened by this tragic loss and express our deepest sympathy to Laura's family and friends," Olson-Loy said. "This is a sad time for our campus and for our friends and neighbors in Starbuck."

Olson-Loy said that Schwendemann grew up in west-central Minnesota, attended Minnewaska High School in Pope County, took classes at Alexandria Technical and Community College and finished high school through the Runestone Regional Learning Center in Alexandria. At Morris, she lived off-campus and was majoring in management, with a focus on financial and organizational management.

For the past two weeks, more than a dozen law enforcement agencies conducted extensive ground and air searches for Schwendemann. She was last seen in Alexandria about 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 14 at a Holiday gas station on 50th Avenue W. with "a male subject known to her," according to an earlier statement from the Sheriff's Office.

Schwendemann and her male companion left in a car with a loud exhaust, and "investigators believe they traveled to unknown locations" throughout southern Douglas County and northern Pope County that night and into the next morning, the Sheriff's Office statement said.

The car has been located and Schwendemann's male companion from that night has been speaking with investigators. Authorities have not revealed his name or said whether they believe he had a role in Schwendemann's death.

Investigators said they didn't believe Schwendemann "left voluntarily."

Authorities said they are particularly interested in hearing from people who may have seen the car, a black 1997 Geo Prism, between 9:30 p.m. Oct. 14 and 10:30 the next morning.

Investigators also asked for help locating a house that the car was believed to have traveled past. It's described as blue with a 3-foot-tall statue of a boy with blue clothing and a red hat, positioned at the end of the home's driveway.

Matt McKinney • 612-209-0376 Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482