DNR officer remembered for her strength, passion

A couple of years ago, Minnesota conservation officers Sarah Grell and Amber Ladd were executing a search warrant for a case involving a man over his limit for deer. Grell was newly pregnant, and she pulled Ladd aside to say she wanted to stay outdoors to avoid exposure to anything harmful inside the home. But the innards of deer found on the roof of a lean-to needed to be counted, "and the next thing you know, she's climbing on a roof to dig through gut piles," Ladd said Thursday. "It was so Sarah."

That passion for her work, her family and her faith is how Grell, of Cohasset, was remembered by many at her funeral service Friday at the Grand Rapids IRA Civic Center.

Grell, a 39-year-old Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer, died while on duty Monday morning when her pickup was broadsided by a semitrailer truck near Grand Rapids, Minn.

A third-generation DNR officer, Grell joined the agency in 2005. Her family's ties to the DNR run deep. Her father, uncle and grandfather were all conservation officers, her mother was employed by the fisheries division and her husband, Gene, works for its forestry division. Grell, who was also passionate about hunting, fishing and camping, was born in Grand Forks, N.D., in 1982 and graduated from Grand Rapids High School in 2000. She earned a criminal justice degree from St. Cloud State University.

Grell was a "dedicated civil servant and a rock-solid partner in the field," Col. Rodmen Smith said at the service. The director of the DNR's enforcement division said Grell's children were the "lights of her life," and she spoke about them "with enthusiastic, unconditional love."

"She had deep friendships and strong bonds with officers across multiple jurisdictions," Smith said. "She was a part of many families, and those families will miss her dearly."

Friend Sam Carlson said Grell, who was "on fire for Jesus" and led an online Bible study, had a way of being "everyone's best friend."

"If you met Sarah, you liked her, unless you were a poacher," she said.

Cousin Katie Fleischman remembered Grell, a cancer survivor, as an "honest, trustworthy, moral and kind person with a smile that lit up the room."

"She looked up to her dad, Craig, with fierce love and devotion," Fleischman said. "There was never a doubt she'd become a conservation officer like him." Her father, Craig Backer, died in 2004.

Grell was proud to continue the work of her family and proud to be a woman in her field, said Ladd, who was deployed with her to last year's unrest in Minneapolis.

She found time to mentor new female officers and gave lectures on gender bias and law enforcement, Ladd said.

Family friend Brook Hoffbauer's kids learned gun and boating safety from Grell. Outreach and education were just as important to Grell as protecting the state's resources, Hoffbauer said.

"She's a mama bear," Hoffbauer said. "One of the neatest people I ever met — one of those moms who can go hunt a turkey and then come home and nurse her baby."

Gov. Tim Walz, who attended the military-style service for Grell, ordered flags flown at half-staff at state and federal buildings Friday in her honor.

Grell leaves behind her husband and three young children, William, Jordyn and Geno. A fundraiser for Grell's family can be found at gofundme.com.

Jana Hollingsworth • 218-508-2450