Craig Allen Reichel

On January 6, 2026, Deputy Leighton of the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office responded to a call for service in SE Olmsted County, MN. Upon arrival, he spoke with an adult male (hereinafter "Victim"). Victim [NAME REDACTED] at approximately 7:30PM, his two dogs left his property. One of the dogs was described as a white Great Pyrenees named Bertha. The other dog was described as a Goldendoodle named Sadie, who was wearing a pink shirt that said "Love" on it when it left Victim's property. Victim sent his neighbor (hereinafter "Witness") a text message asking if she had seen his dogs.

Witness stated that she contacted another individual who lives on their street named CRAIG ALLEN REICHEL [DOB REDACTED]. When asked if he had seen Victim's dogs, Reichel claimed that he did not know Victim [NAME REDACTED]. Witness assisted in searching the area for Victim's dogs. While looking for the dogs, Witness noticed a blood trail near a deer carcass pile on the Reichel property. Witness followed the blood trail and found Bertha, Victim's Great Pyrenees. Bertha had been shot and was deceased.

Sadie, Victim's Goldendoodle, was still missing at this point. Deputy Leighton contacted Reichel via phone to ask if he knew anything about the situation. Reichel admitted that he shot the dogs at around 8PM the night before, but claimed he did so because they were chasing deer and threatening his own dogs. Reichel explained that he did not know where the Great Pyrenees ended up after he shot it. However, he said he took the Goldendoodle down by the creek on his property to dispose of its carcass.

Reichel returned home and met with Deputy Leighton to provide an additional statement. Reichel again admitted to shooting the dogs but clarified that his dogs were not actually outside when he shot them. Reichel claimed that when he shot the dogs they were running near deer on his property. Reichel gave Deputy Leighton and Conservation Officer Schlag a ride down to the creek where he disposed of the Goldendoodle. Reichel said the dog's sweater came off while he was dragging the carcass, so he discarded it.

The officers were unable to locate the sweater. Deputy Leighton observed a trail camera set up near the carcass pile. Photographs were obtained from the trail camera and it depicted Victim's dogs standing next to the carcass pile calmly. The dogs were not seen chasing deer or exhibiting any aggressive behavior on the trail camera photographs. Additionally, 3 55-CR-26-1922 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 3/17/2026 Victim provided a follow-up statement explaining that the Great Pyrenees would have been unable to run for more than several strides due to ongoing hip pain it was being treated for.

Victim also stated that Reichel knows which dogs belong to Victim as they are consistently outside and sit near Reichel when he mows the ditch along the highway. The value of each one of the dogs shot by Reichel can vary somewhat, but in either case the replacement value of each dog is in excess of $500. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: YOU MUST APPEAR FOR EVERY COURT HEARING REGARDING THIS CASE. FAILURE TO APPEAR FOR COURT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE AND MAY RESULT IN ADDITIONAL CRIMINAL CHARGES BEING IMPOSED AND PUNISHED AS PROVIDED IN MINNESOTA STATUTES SECTION 609.49.