Charges in Death of 5-Year-Old Girl Include Sexual Assault

The suspect in the abduction and death of 5-year-old Alayna Jeanne Ertl was charged Tuesday.

Zachary Todd Anderson, 25, of Coon Rapids, was charged with second degree murder, first degree criminal sexual assault, kidnapping and theft.

According to the medical examiner, Ertl died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to her head. The examiner also found evidence of sexual assault, including penetration, according to a news release.

Ertl was first reported missing on Saturday at 10 a.m. to Meeker County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Ertl’s parents told deputies that they put her bed on Saturday at 2 a.m. and that at 8 a.m., both she and a guest who had spent the night, Zachary Anderson, a family friend of Ertl’s and her father’s co-worker, were gone.

The father's white GMC Sierra truck was also missing with his cell phone inside.

Deputies conducted a neighborhood canvass for Ertl. They also contacted the family’s cell phone provider to try to locate Anderson.

When Ertl was not located during the canvass, the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office contacted the BCA to request assistance with the investigation.

BCA agents and sheriff’s deputies canvassed local businesses and the neighborhood for video surveillance images and worked to develop information on the whereabouts of Anderson.

When the video and leads did not result in Ertl or Anderson being located, an Amber Alert was issued at 1:12 p.m.

Cass County sheriff’s deputies located the stolen vehicle on property owned by Anderson’s family in rural Cass County.

No one was inside the vehicle or a cabin on the property.

Additional law enforcement responded to the property, and Anderson was located at approximately 4:24 p.m. by K-9 officers in a wooded area less than a mile from the cabin.

Anderson did not attempt to flee, he did not have a weapon and did not resist arrest.

Information provided by the suspect led law enforcement to Ertl’s remains in a swampy wooded area a few hundred yards from the cabin. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anderson made his first court appearance Tuesday morning. His bail is set at $2 million.

Images via Meeker County Sheriff's Office