Suspect Arrested – 5 Year Old Girl Found Safe

BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of kidnapping a missing 5-year-old girl who was found safe after a fatal fire in Bemidji.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Brittany Rose Balcer was found alive early Thursday. BCA Special Agent Sue Burggraf says the girl was found in a camper near Big Fork, about 70 miles northeast of Bemidji, on property belonging to a relative of the suspect.

Burggraf also says the death of the woman found in the fire Wednesday morning is being investigated as a homicide. Family members identify the victim as Melissa "Missy" Norby.

The girl's aunt tells the Star Tribune her niece was visiting Norby, a close family friend.

The 32-year-old Bemidji man was identified as a "person of interest" late Wednesday. He is jailed pending formal charges. Court records indicate Jacob Kinn was convicted of possessing child pornography in 2013.