By Nancy Huddleston, Editor

Savage police are investigating the murder of a 24-year-old Minneapolis woman who answered a Craigslist ad for a babysitting job.

According to police, the 19-year-old man from Savage who placed the ad is in custody and is expected to be charged by Monday in connection with the crime.

Katherine Ann Olson of Minneapolis was last seen by her roommate on Thursday morning (Oct. 25) when she left to answer the ad.

“The victim was seeking employment as a babysitter through an ad on Craigslist, which we believe the suspect posted and is what led her to Savage,” said Capt. Dave Muelken of the Savage Police Department.

He said it’s too early in the investigation to tell if the ad was a fake.

Police said the case started as a result of a routine call of a found purse in a garbage can at Pacer Park on 125th Street in downtown Savage. Police left a voice mail for Olson regarding her purse, which was answered later in the day by her roommate, who told police about the last time she’d seen Olson.

“Our investigation quickly shifted gears into a missing person case,” said Muelken.

Police went back to the park in search of more clues and found a garbage bag with a bloody towel inside, which pushed the case into high gear. An extensive search was done of Pacer Park and when it was unsuccessful, a State Patrol helicopter was brought in with a heat-seeking device to scan the park for a possible body.

Although the search of Pacer Park was unsuccessful, as the helicopter was leaving and flying east on Highway 13, the pilot reported in that there was a car parked in the lot at the Rudy Kraemer Park Preserve, just over the Burnsville/Savage border. The vehicle was identified by the license plates as Olson’s and a search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of her body in the trunk.

Muelken characterized the murder as “tragic” and “unusual” saying the investigation is continuing as to how the case unfolded. He would not disclose the manner of Olson’s death, saying an autopsy was in progress

Police say the 19-year-old suspect lives with his parents in the 12600 block of Kipling Avenue in downtown Savage. He works at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, which is where he was arrested on Friday evening after Olson’s body was discovered and the lead about the Craigslist ad was solidified.

Police Chief Rodney Seurer said he and Muelken visited with Olson’s parents, who live in Cottage Grove. The chief described Olson as a “beautiful young lady” who was valedictorian of her class at Park High School in Cottage Grove.

“She was a free-spirited young lady who had traveled the world,” the chief said. Olson was also a juggler who had performed at a circus in Argentina at one time and was currently working a nanny job that she also found out about on Craigslist.

Police have three crime scenes in connection with the murder – at Pacer Park, Kraemer Park and the suspect’s parents’ home on Kipling Avenue.

Savage Police are being assisted in the investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCA), Minnesota State Patrol, Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Burnsville Police Department and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police.

 Nancy Huddleston can be reached at editor@savagepacer.com.