DALBO, Minn. — An Isanti County man is charged with depravation of custodial rights after prosecutors said he helped a 14-year-old runaway hide from her parents for more than two months.
Court documents lay out the case against 36-year-old Shawn Patrick Bellach, who is a former live-in boyfriend of the teen's mom. Prosecutors allege Bellach helped set the girl up to live in a tent in the woods behind a friend's Pine County residence.
Forest Lake police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) began investigating after the teen left home May 19 on her bicycle pulling a yellow trailer with her cat inside. Four days later they issued a missing persons alert, and the case took on a high public profile that included a KARE 11 interview with the girl's mother. A number of tips came in, but none panned out.
The case set off a high-profile
During the early investigation police spoke with Bellach, who shared his displeasure with the parenting skills of the teen's mom, and told them he taught the girl how to "dumpster dive" and live as a homeless person.
BCA agents helped execute a search warrant at the defendant's residence in Dalbo and found a yellow bike trailer matching the description of the one the teen was pulling with her bike when she went missing. They were also able to identify two mobile phones associated with Bellach, and used cell tower locations to identify a residence on State Highway 107 near Grasston in Pine County.
On July 21, Forest Lake Police, Pine County Deputies and BCA agents served a search warrant on the property and found the girl hiding in a closet. One of the property owners told law enforcement that the teen had been living in a tent on the property. Investigators located the tent which was stocked with food and equipped with electricity, a double bed, a makeshift toilet and a clothesline. The property owner told police that Bellach had brought the teen there and said she was being physically abused at home. She added that the defendant would come and visit the girl.
Bellach was taken into custody and reportedly admitted to investigators that he helped the 14-year-old for two months after she left home, and that she was going to stay in the tent "while permanent plans were made." Police say he admitted being untruthful in early interviews when asked about the girl's whereabouts.
Shawn Bellach is currently being held in the Pine County jail. Depravation of custodial rights is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
