Crime & Safety
Suspicious Death: Ice-Encased Remains In Burnsville Identified
The medical examiner had to slowly defrost the chunk of ice surrounding the body, according to authorities.
BURNSVILLE, MN — Family members have identified the remains found encased in 500 pounds of ice in a pond just off the Minnesota River Sunday. Authorities consider the circumstances surrounding the death of Elizabeth Perrault — who hadn't been seen for nearly six months — to be suspicious.
Perrault was last seen Nov. 1 before she was reported missing, according to the National Missing Persons Database.
A passerby found her body under Interstate 35W near Black Dog Road.
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"We had to cut her out," Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie told the Star Tribune. "That chunk was about 500 pounds. It was quite the recovery operation." The Hennepin County Medical Examiner is "slowly defrosting the chunk" in order to preserve evidence, Leslie added.
Perrault's boyfriend told investigators the last time he saw Perrault, she was leaving with two unknown women for a treatment facility. Perrault battled alcoholism, KSTP reports.
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On Thursday, the medical examiner confirmed Perrault's identity but said the cause and manner of death are still under investigation.
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