Stearns County burglar found covered in manure, smoking cigarette

MAINE PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP, Minn. (KMSP) - A burglar’s getaway was thwarted this week after his truck got stuck in a large pile of manure.

The incident occurred Wednesday morning, Aug. 29 as two Stearns County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the burglary complaint in Main Prairie Township, Minnesota.

In its weekly newsletter, the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office outlined the bizarre turn of events in which Matthew Bloomquist, 29, of Harwick, Minnesota, allegedly stole lumber and other items out of someone’s shed.

“When deputies arrived, they found a man standing on the side of the road, smoking a cigarette, covered in manure from his waist to his shoes,” the sheriff's office said. “He was wearing jean shorts over long underwear and no shoes, which the deputies assumed were somewhere in the manure pile.”

The newsletter adds, “Obviously this encounter was accompanied by a strong smelling odor. Add to that the fair amount of rain we received over the weekend and you have a nice blend.”

Deputies said it looked like he had been trying to free the truck from the manure for a “considerable amount of time” before he was arrested and transported to Stearns County Jail.

Before his transport, however, the deputies stopped at the department’s garage to hose Bloomquist clean of the manure.

“The trip to the jail was made with the windows open,” the department said. “As of Thursday, Deputy [Craig] Pogatshnik reports his squad windows are all still open and he doesn’t have enough Febreeze to combat the aroma.”

Bloomquist faces third degree burglary and possession of stolen property charges.