Deputies search for escaped inmate in northern MN

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Michael Todd Hart (St. Louis County Sheriff's Office / Supplied)

INDEPENDENCE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities are searching for an inmate that escaped from a jail in northern Minnesota on Tuesday.

Inmate escapes in northern MN

What we know:

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office is searching for 40-year-old Michael Todd Hart. Deputies say Hart escaped from custody at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center on Tuesday evening.

Deputies say Hart is 5-foot-10-inches tall, with brown hair, and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a yellow sweatshirt, grey T-shirt, and blue pants.

Deputies think he is headed north from the facility towards Independence, Minn. An active search for Hart is underway.

Previous conviction

The backstory:

It's not clear why Hart was being held in the facility. Court records show he was sentenced in August for a domestic assault case. In that case, Hart was accused of attacking his girlfriend while high on mushrooms in 2024. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail in the case, but the sentence was stayed for a year – meaning he wouldn't serve time if he stayed out of trouble. It's not clear if Hart was in the corrections center related to that case or another incident.

What you can do:

If you see Hart, you are asked to call 911. Deputies say you should not approach him.

Dig deeper:

The Northeast Regional Corrections Center is a minimum/medium security jail run by several northeast Minnesota counties. It is located in St. Louis County, about 15 miles northwest of Duluth.