Minneapolis domestic kidnapping victim found - latest updates - February 11, 2022

Update - February 14, 2022: As of 9 AM on February 14, 2022 Derrick Fasig is being held at the Hennepin County Jail awaiting 4 charges. Those charges are: Assault 4th Degree, Predatory Offenders - Registration Required, “Department of Corrections charge” - FELONY, and Kidnapping. At this time there are no other details. We will continue to update this story as we get more information.

Just after 5 PM this evening, the Minneapolis FBI confirmed they had found the young woman, identified as 30-year-old Azaria McKenzy Sandifer, who was kidnapped around 12:15 PM on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at gunpoint. The suspect who kidnapped her is identified as Derrick Jonathan Fasig, 27-years-old. He was arrested around 4:30 PM this afternoon when his Chevy Tahoe was spotted by authorities in the Burnsville area and a pursuit occurred. He abandoned his vehicle and ran on foot before being taken into custody. Sandifer was checked out by medics and is reported to have no injuries. It is reported that Sandifer and Fasig were previously in a relationship together which was how they knew each other.

Yesterday we had written an article about how the Minneapolis domestic kidnapping and the police activity in Eagan, Minnesota were possibly related - click here for that article. With Ms. Sandifer found safe and Mr. Fasig in prison, we can officially confirm the two incidents were in fact connected to each other and we will give the full story below.

Around 12:15 PM on Thursday, February 10, 2022, in the 4200 block of Webber Parkway in Minneapolis, MN Azaria McKenzy Sandifer was kidnapped at gunpoint by Derrick Jonathan Fasig. The gun he used to kidnap Sandifer was later identified as a M4 Cabine assault rifle. Fasig fled with Sandifer in what was identified at the time as a gray/black Chevy Tahoe with the license plate HSZ-193. During the kidnapping, Fasig reportedly broke out several windows from the location he kidnapped Sandifer from.

Around 1 PM on Thursday, February 10, 2022, the Eagan Police department received a call from the family of Sandifer who reported that Fasig had sent them a photo of the front of their home and made a domestic threat of some sort. Eagan police were dispatched to the area of Diffley Rd and Dodd Rd in Eagan, Minnesota for this incident. Fasig was identified by police as a Native American male with several neck tattoos including one of a feather under his eye. The Eagan police department, following a conversation with Minneapolis police department, confirmed the suspect in their call was the same suspect from the Minneapolis incident earlier in the day. In response the Eagan police department, with help from the Rosemont police department, set up a perimeter around the area and began a strategic search for the suspect. While Fasig’s vehicle was no longer in the area, it was believed he might still be in the area. At least one drone was also deployed to aid in the search despite moderate snow falling during the time of the search. Police were also staged at the nearby Pinewood Elementary School as a precaution, but the school was not in session at the time because of parent-teacher conferences. School officials were informed of the ongoing police activity in the area and out of an abundance of caution for the parents, kids, and staff at the school, the school decided to cancel the conferences for the remainder of the day just after 3:40 PM.

Rough map of incident area in the Eagan, Minnesota area.

Just after 5 PM, the perimeter that was set up along Diffley was allowed to be relaxed, relieving Rosemont Police units a few Eagan Police units to return to service. Several agencies were involved in this incident at this time including the Eagan Police Department, Rosemont Police Department, Minneapolis Police Department, the Minnesota State Police, and the FBI. Agencies were tracking the location of Fasig and Sandifer and by this time they were noted to possibly be in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The family of Sandifer, who were in the residents of where the threat was made, were also taken into protection.

Just after 7 PM, Eagan Police put out an update saying the situation will continue to be an open and active investigation with extra police presence and patrols expected until further notice. There again is no threat to public safety.

Arrest records for Derrick Jonathan Fasig show he was sentenced back on May 14, 2018, for a felony kidnapping charge and was released on June 1, 2021, for that sentence. Records show that in that case, Fasig admitted to everything he did then and took a plea agreement for felony kidnapping The other four charges he was not found guilty for include: third-degree criminal sex conduct - forced or coerced, possession of ammunition and a firearm, felony domestic assault, and domestic assault by strangulation. It appears Fasig was also arrested on drug charges in Alton, Iowa back on October 28, 2021. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance - marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.