A man “being attended to” by detention staff at the Anoka County Jail collapsed and died early Monday, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday in a statement.

Lifesaving measures were administered after the man collapsed just before 12:30 a.m., and Allina paramedics were dispatched to the jail. He died at the scene.

The sheriff’s office did not release his name Tuesday, nor provide additional information. His death is being investigated by the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office and the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Providing care and supervision to all those legally confined to our jail is a responsibility I view of paramount importance,” Anoka County Sheriff Brad Wise said in the statement. “Any death that occurs in the facility brings deep impacts to the individual’s family, friends, those housed with them and detention staff. Anoka County Jail staff and I will continue our commitment to identify and implement solutions to help achieve our goal, which is the health and wellbeing of those in our facility.”

— Nick Ferraro

Man, 38, pleads guilty in ‘sextortion’ scheme

A 38-year-old Woodbury man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to a sextortion scheme involving two teenage girls.

Timothy Lennard Gebhart pleaded guilty to coercing the girls, ages 16 and 14, to engage in sexually explicit conduct by themselves in order to make pornographic videos and images that he then distributed with his computer and cellphone. Authorities say Gebhart did this multiple times between July 2021 and March 2022 while using aliases and posing as someone younger, including as a teenager.

In addition, court documents say that Gebhart extorted money and other items of value from the 16-year-old by threatening to send the photos and videos to her family and friends.

The plea documents says the girls are among six victims — from Minnesota, Texas, Indiana and elsewhere — who authorities were able to identify in Gebhart’s sextortion scheme. Other victims have not been identified.

Gebhart pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to two counts of child pornography production and one count each of child pornography distribution and interstate communication with the intent to extort.

He faces a mandatory minimum 15-year prison term at sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.

“Sextortion — threatening to share explicit images of a victim unless they comply with a predator’s demands — is abhorrent,” Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick said in a statement. “All too often, our children become victims of these monstrous schemes. My office will continue to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law.”

— Nick Ferraro

Museum hosting annual quilt show

About 100 quilts revolving around a single theme, “The Threads That Bind Us,” are on display in South St. Paul to celebrate the Dakota County Historical Society’s 30th annual quilt show.

The show, which is done in partnership with the Dakota County Star Quilters, is on display at the Lawshe Memorial Museum, where visitors can view and vote on their favorite pieces until April 11.

In addition to the work of the Dakota County Star Quilters, the exhibit includes quilt challenges, a small quilt auction and a

lecture from quilter Sue Heinz, according to the historical society.

With over 25 years of quilting experience, Heinz will give this year’s lecture, titled “You’ve Got a Friend Named Elmer,” at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on April 8. Tickets for the lecture can be found at http://pipr.es/FrHk7mw.

Located at 130 Third Ave. N. in South St. Paul, the Lawshe Museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.

There is a suggested $5 donation for admission to the exhibit.

— Mars King

Zoo is on the trail of 2 escaped otters

Two river otters, Louie and Ophelia, weaseled their way out of their northeastern Wisconsin zoo enclosure last week during a winter storm, appearing on security camera footage cavorting across the snow, as the search continued Tuesday.

The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park near Green Bay said the two North American river otters escaped through a small hole that they enlarged in a buried fence, and their flight was quickly noticed by zookeepers on their morning rounds.

But Louie and Ophelia don’t appear to have gone far, their tracks showed them exploring nearby bodies of water and returning to the zoo’s perimeter now

and again, the zoo said in a news release.

Footage released by the zoo shows an otter leaving the stoop of a building and launching itself into a belly slide on the snow, its forepaws snapping to its side, nose leading the way and back legs thrusting for an extra boost.

It’s the undeniable “bounce, bounce, sliiiiide” of the otter, the zoo said in a Facebook post, and creates one of the more recognizable mammal tracks.

Louie and Ophelia are expected to stay close because otters are territorial creatures, the zoo said, adding their species are native to the area and capable of surviving, with the local ponds and streams offering food and shelter.

Search efforts include a hired tracker, motion-activated cameras and public calls to send in photos and video of sightings of the critters.

Reports of Louie and Ophelia have come in, along with some videos and photos, since their escape, the zoo said.

— Associated Press