ALEXANDRIA - Authorities say a farmer has found human remains that appear to be of a female about the same age as woman reported missing Oct 14.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said a farmer in Douglas County reported finding the remains about 2:30 p.m. in a field he was harvesting.
Deputies confirmed what appeared to be the remains of a late teens to early 20s female.
An identification is pending an autopsy and lab results by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office. The remains were found in Orange Township, to the east of Alexandria.
Authorities in Douglas County has been investigating the disappearance of Laura Ann Schwendemann, 18, last seen Oct. 14 in Alexandria.
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The Holiday gas station at 50th Avenue in Alexandria is the last place that investigators can confirm Schwendemann’s whereabouts, based on video footage.
Authorities have been searching on the ground and by air for Schwendemann, who is from Starbuck, Minn., and a freshman at the University of Minnesota Morris.
Earlier Monday, Douglas County Sheriff Troy Wolbersen said a male who was seen with Schwendemann has been questioned and “he continues to be a person that we are interested in and are investigating."
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.
Information from interviews has placed Schwendemann in a 1997 black Geo Prizm. The car has been found but authorities are seeking any information regarding its whereabouts between 9:30 p.m. Oct. 14 and 10:30 a.m. Oct. 15.
Schwendemann is white, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office at 320-762-8151 or the Pope County Sheriff’s Office at 320-634-5411.
