Man met teen girl online, helped her runaway before taking own life: Police

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (FOX 9) - The man who took his own life during a police encounter as authorities investigated the location of a missing teen girl has been identified as 53-year-old Scott Carlstrom of St. Cloud.

What we know

According to the St. Cloud Police Department, Carlstrom lived at a home on the 1700 block of Casselberry Road in St. Cloud, where a standoff that involved a SWAT team occurred on Oct. 2.

Police say they were searching for a missing teen girl from Morrison County, who they later found in the home.

While authorities were investigating the circumstances, they spoke with Carlstrom, who later went into a back bedroom when a gunshot was heard.

Additional investigation

Since the standoff resolution, authorities say additional follow-up investigation determined that Carlstrom first met the teen girl in an online forum, where he communicated with her online for several months before convincing her to come stay with him.

As part of the plan, police say Carlstrom went to Morrison County, where he picked her up from her home.