St. Paul police on Tuesday arrested a man named a person of interest in the disappearance of a Vadnais Heights woman last seen in late August.
Timothy James Barr, 51, of St. Paul was booked into the Ramsey County Jail after a police dog chased him down near Portland Avenue and Griggs Street in St. Paul, according to Sgt. John Eastham, a spokesman for the Ramsey County sheriff’s office.
Barr is being held on suspicion of homicide. He has not been charged.
Eastham would not say whom Barr is suspected of killing or if his arrest was related to the missing woman’s disappearance.
Michelle Lee Newell, 45, was last seen in her Vadnais Heights apartment by an acquaintance Aug. 29. Family members reported her missing to police last week because it was unusual for her to be out of touch with relatives for more than a few days, police reported. She has three children.
Newell changed her last name to Zion after she and her husband, Gregory Newell, divorced in 2013.
No update was available on the status of her disappearance and none of her relatives could be reached for comment Wednesday.
“That investigation, as well as the investigation into the reason Mr. Barr was arrested, are both active,” Eastham said.
Barr was arrested Tuesday afternoon after police got word that a homicide suspect was in the area and set up a perimeter, according to Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman.
Barr was raking leaves in a yard in the 1200 block of Portland Avenue when an officer approached and told him he was under arrest, Ernster said. Barr ran and was chased down by a police dog.
He was taken to Regions Hospital to be treated for a dog bite and then was taken into custody by the Ramsey County sheriff’s office.
Barr has a lengthy criminal history that includes several drug possession convictions as well as first-degree criminal damage to property and obstructing the legal process.
None of his relatives could be reached for comment.
Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.