Equipment stolen in Dassel, Minn., recovered in Wisconsin
TURTLE LAKE, WIS. -- Two men have been arrested and numerous pieces of stolen heavy equipment, including a Bobcat missing from a farm equipment dealer in Dassel, were recovered by law enforcement Thursday in Turtle Lake, Wis.
According to a news release from Meeker County Sheriff Jeff Norlin, the $60,000 Bobcat was reported stolen from Farmrite Equipment in Dassel in February. The skid loader, along with a $130,000 backhoe missing from Kanabec County, were among the items recovered when the Barron County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant on a rural Turtle Lake, Wis. address.
The search warrant was the result of an earlier arrest in Dunn County, Wis. On Sept. 14, a dealership in Dunn County reported two men loading implement equipment into an enclosed trailer and fleeing the area. Local authorities located the vehicle and arrested Keith Duffee, 29, from Turtle Lake, Wis., and James Huisenga, 41, from North Branch.
During the course of that investigation, information was gathered resulting in the issuance of the search warrant on Duffee's property in Barron County.
Duffee earlier had posted bond and was released on the Dunn County charges. He has pending charges as a result of the search warrant. This matter remains under investigation by the Meeker County Sheriff's Office and other authorities in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
