An Isanti County man charged with hiding a Forest Lake teen in a tent in rural Pine County, Minn., for months was sentenced to four years in prison Friday.

Shawn Patrick Bellach (Courtesy of the Pine County Sheriff’s Office)

Shawn Patrick Bellach, 39, of Dalbo, Minn., pleaded guilty in August to felony charges of kidnapping and second-degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced in the 10th Judicial District Court, which includes Pine County. Each count includes a sentence of four years, which will be served concurrently. Bellach was credited for 25 days served.

One count each of soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct, deprivation of custodial or parental rights, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct were dismissed as part of a plea agreement Bellach reached with the prosecution in August. Bellach is required to register as a predatory offender for the remainder of his life.

Bellach was arrested in July 2023 after the teen girl, who was then 14, was found living in a tent north of Grasston, Minn., late that month. She had been missing since May after leaving her house on a bicycle with an attached trailer, taking her cat and $3,000 in baby-sitting money.

The girl’s mother told the Pioneer Press in June that the girl left a note saying she was going to be “traveling around the United States with her boyfriend.”

Bellach knew the girl’s mother and agreed to help the girl run away to a home belonging to friends of his in Grasston, according to the complaint. The friends agreed to let the girl stay in a tent on the property temporarily after Bellach told them that the girl was abused at home, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, a search of the girl’s cellphone showed videos of Bellach and the girl living together in the tent. In one video, Bellach asks the girl what it is like “dating someone who is 20 years older than her.”

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Julius Randle scored 30 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Charlotte Hornets 122-105 on Saturday night, their first victory since All-Star Anthony Edwards was sidelined with an injury.

Without Edwards, who has a right hamstring strain, Minnesota had lost home games to Denver and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Donte DiVincenzo and Naz Reid added 18 points each, Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Jaden McDaniels added 14 points for Minnesota.

Miles Bridges had 30 points and LaMelo Ball had 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to lead Charlotte, which has lost its last three games.

Charlotte led 56-50 at halftime before Minnesota dominated the third quarter 36-18 to take and 86-74 lead into the final quarter. The Timberwolves’ strong play extended into the fourth quarter as they eventually built a 20-point lead.

Minnesota made 17 of 36 3-pointers (47.2%) , getting conversions from DiVincenzo (5 of 12), Randle (3 of 6), Rei (3 of 5), McDaniels (2 of 2), Johnny Juzang (1 of 1) and Bones Hyland (1 of 3).

The Hornets were 13 of 45 (28.9%)from 3-point range.

This was the first game since the Hornets announced they had exercised their fourth-year team option on guard Brandon Miller and third-year team option on forward Tidjane Salaun.

Miller, the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, has appeared in 103 career games, but missed 65 games last year after needing right wrist surgery and missed his fourth straight game Saturday with a left shoulder injury.

Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham was playing in his second career game near his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, 60 miles northwest of Charlotte. He had four points and three assists in 15 minutes.

It was a commanding victory for Wayzata senior Maddie Gullickson as she finished in 16 minutes, 54.3 seconds Saturday afternoon at the Class 3A girls state cross country championship on the University of Minnesota campus.

The result never seemed to be in question as Gullickson sprinted across the finish line 37.1 seconds before Forest Lake’s Anna VanAcker, who came in second. Gullickson unleashed her pent-up joy as she completed the race, smiling with her arms raised over her head.

Forest Lake’s Anna VanAcker runs during the Class 3A girls cross country race of the State Tournament at Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis, Saturday, Nov. 01, 2025. (Craig Lassig / Special to the Pioneer Press)

Burnsville’s Carley LaMotte finished in third, eight seconds back of VanAcker, while Mounds View’s Linnea Ousdigian placed sixth.

Gullickson said the emotion came not only from winning the state championship but from beating a benchmark she set for herself.

“My big goal this season was to break 17 [minutes], so that was so cool to be able to do it here,” Gullickson said.
”Just knowing how much adversity I’ve faced in the work that I’ve put in the season comes to show in moments like this.”

But just like a cross-country course, the road to this achievement was an uphill battle with challenging twists and turns. Gullickson had to battle through adversity stemming from her previous track campaign.

Gullickson said she had to push through a stress fracture in her foot and a recent nagging illness.

“I raced with it for like, half the track season, and then we finally went and got it checked out,” Gullickson said. “I’ve been facing a sickness the past few weeks, so I’ve been on the come up from that.

Even with the happiness that overcomes one when winning a state championship, Gullickson was quick to praise her teammates when asked about her accomplishment.

“Yeah, it’s awesome, I mean, I’ve won state championships in track, but just like coming out here for cross is just a whole other thing because I have my whole team here with me,” Gullickson said. “I’m not just racing for my success, but I’m racing for my team’s success.”

Her motivation comes from striving for team success, but also in response to a personal setback a season ago.

Gullickson finished as runner-up to then-Forest Lake senior and now Gophers freshman Norah Hushagen last year. She said coming up short motivated her heading into her senior campaign.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because it just motivated me even more this year,” Gullickson said. “It just makes the success so much more … knowing that I put in so much work to get here.”

The North Carolina State commit also spearheaded the Trojans’ fourth straight team title.

Class 2A

Simley freshman Annaleigh Schwab finished in second in the individual race with a time of 18 minutes, 22 seconds – 19 seconds behind St. Francis senior Keira Friedrich. Minneapolis Southwest won the team title.

Class A

St. John’s Prep’s Margaret Duffy won the girls championship. Nova Classical freshman Isabel Pass finished fourth.

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Como Park was ranked fifth in its class heading into Saturday’s Class 2A boys state meet. Cougars junior Charlie Loth was ranked seventh.

But the meets aren’t run on paper.

What more appropriate way for a first-ever St. Paul Public School boys cross country team title to occur than from an underdog role?

A dream performance at the right time on the biggest stage put the Cougars atop the podium at Les Bolstad Golf Course.

Loth raced to an individual crown, the first in program history. The junior finished in 15 minutes, 31.1 seconds – three ticks clear of Orono senior Gabe Hallen.

Loth was in a lead pack of about four runners that pulled away from the field. That group ran together until Loth and Kasson-Mantorville’s David Obst took off to set up what appeared to be a two-man finish.

But as they descended down the final hill, Loth started to pull away and Obst took a tumble, allowing Loth to cruise to the championship. Obst finished fourth.

“Everyone was so tired,” Loth told reporters. “I was exhausted, too. But I wasn’t going to be more tired than anyone else. I had to go for it.”

Como Park senior Ben Clark finished in ninth, while junior Arthur Anderson placed 11th. Neither Clark nor Anderson even received votes in the coaches’ poll, which ranks the class’ top 12 individuals.

“When we were on the starting line, you could tell the (Cougars) were ready to go,” Loth told reporters. “This is incredible. I didn’t think something like this was possible.”

Hazel Small and Logan Small rounded out the Cougars’ top five, which finished with a team score of 75 – 14 points clear of second-place Perham, the state’s top-ranked team.

Loth is just the fourth-ever St. Paul public school individual boys cross country state champion, and first since Highland Park’s Oliver Paleen won the Class 2A crown in 2019.

Class A

Erik Semling from Cotter Hope won the boys individual title.

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