Disappeared August 20, 2016 Home town Watkins, Minnesota | Nationality American | |
Full Name Alayna Jeanne Ertl Born October 31, 2010 ( 2010-10-31 ) Died August 20, 2016(2016-08-20) (aged 5)Motley, Minnesota Cause of death Strangulation and blunt-force trauma | ||
Alayna Ertl was a missing 5-year-old girl from Watkins, Minnesota who was later found murdered. She went missing on Saturday, August 20, 2016 and was last seen alive around 2am Central Daylight Time, according to the Amber Alert that was issued for her. When her parents woke up at 8am Saturday, they noted that their daughter, their pickup truck, and the house guest who had stayed with them overnight were gone. After her parents reported her missing, her father's cell phone in the truck pinged a cell tower in Todd County, Minnesota giving a clue to where she might be. Her body was located nine hours later in Cass county near the Wilderness Park in a swampy area. The overnight guest, Zachary Todd Anderson, a softball teammate of the girl's father, is believed to have stolen the family's white 2002 GMC Sierra pickup truck during the abduction. He was located in a secluded area around 4:20pm Central Time. Police had tracked the vehicle to Anderson's family's cabin, which was unoccupied when they arrived.