A 34-year-old man found dead in a home’s freezer had entered it to hide from officers, Minnesota police said.
The man, identified by Gilbert police as Brandon Lee Buschman, was found dead on June 26. Police on Friday, July 7, revealed more information about why Buschman was in the freezer.
Buschman, who had an active warrant for his arrest, was seen by witnesses fleeing the upstairs of a Biwabik home due to the possible presence of police, police said. The house had been empty since February.
He went into the basement and entered a freezer “of his own accord,” police said.
The freezer was not working, police said, but could not be opened from the inside.
“Investigators found a metal bar for lawn ornament inserted from the inside of the freezer to the locking mechanism,” police said in a press release. “The rod was jammed between the gasket and the fabricated rim, preventing the rod from manipulating the locking mechanism from the inside.”
An autopsy revealed “no evidence of trauma or injury,” police said. It’s unclear how long Buschman was in the freezer before he was discovered.
Investigators are trying to determine when Buschman was last seen alive.
“The individuals’ reports were very unclear to us as to when exactly Buschman had fled,” Lieutenant Chelsea Trucano told the Duluth News Tribune. “We are continuing to work on additional research to determine whether that was this year or last year and will provide that information at a later date once it is narrowed down to a better timeline.”
Gilbert is about 200 miles north of Minneapolis.
