Lake Elmo Park Reserve Temporarily Closed After Abandoned Pursuit Vehicle Found, Suspicious Person Reported
Published: June 26, 2026
DAKOTA & WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA - Earlier today, authorities from multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the Lake Elmo Park Reserve after an abandoned vehicle connected to an earlier pursuit in Dakota County was located, prompting a temporary closure of the park while officers searched for a potentially suspicious individual.
According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to assist the Dakota County Sheriff's Office after the vehicle believed to be connected to the earlier pursuit was discovered inside the park. Officers from the Woodbury Police Department, Cottage Grove Police Department, and the Minnesota State Patrol also responded to assist with the investigation.
A portion of the pursuit occurred around 10:30 AM on Friday, June 26, 2026, with a vehicle fleeing from Dakota County Law Enforcement onto eastbound I-494 in Washington County before it exited the highway near Lake Road and entered Woodbury, Minnesota, before officers lost sight of it. Around 11:20 AM, officers at Lake Elmo Park Reserve found the vehicle involved in this pursuit at the park. Authorities received a report of a suspicious individual near a pavilion where children and adults were gathered.
As a precaution, officials temporarily closed the park to new visitors while officers searched the area. Adults who were with the children at the pavilion took immediate action on their own, moving the children into a nearby restroom while law enforcement worked to determine whether there was any threat.
Authorities said it remains unclear whether the suspicious individual reported inside the park was the same person who fled from deputies during the earlier Dakota County pursuit. Despite an extensive search involving multiple agencies, officers were unable to locate the individual, who is believed to have left the area before law enforcement arrived.
Witnesses at the park tell Limitless Media News that police had the park closed and were searching every vehicle exiting the park.
The park has since reopened to the public, and authorities emphasized there is no ongoing danger to visitors or the surrounding community.
Investigators also confirmed that the abandoned vehicle recovered at the park has been turned over to the Dakota County Sheriff's Office, which will continue the investigation into the earlier pursuit and efforts to identify and locate the individual involved.
Limitless Media News received several reports Friday morning of police activity across Dakota County, including in Burnsville, Rosemount, Farmington, and Woodbury, of a vehicle that potentially matched the description of the one fleeing law enforcement across Scott, Dakota, and Washington Counties. We have reached out to Shakopee Police, Burnsville Police, Rosemount Police, Farmington Police, Woodbury Police, the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, the Dakota County Drug Task Force, and the Minnesota State Patrol for more information on this incident, and to try to confirm if the various activities across the South Metro were all connected. We are also working to confirm the identity and charges for the individual involved in this incident(s).
Officials have not released additional information about the pursuit, the vehicle, or the person being sought. The investigation remains active. We will provide an update once we have an official statement.
Written by: Will Wight
