Bemidji-Area Grave: Is Brian Fairbanks Buried There?

BELTRAMI COUNTY, Minnesota (trfnews.i234.me) – A family wants answers about Brian Fairbanks’ grave.

His brothers, Aaron and Andrew Fairbanks, filed an exhumation petition in Beltrami County District Court on November 3, 2026.

The filing raises questions about two cemeteries, three deceased men, and several caskets reportedly moved between gravesites.

Family Reports Casket Was Removed

Brian Fairbanks died April 9, 2026, at age 31, according to the petition.

His family held a graveside service May 21 at Sugar Bush Cemetery in Beltrami County.

The casket was not opened during that service, the petition states.

Two days later, Brian’s aunt, Amanda Fairbanks, learned that workers were digging at the gravesite.

In a sworn statement, she says she went to the cemetery and saw a black metal casket being removed.

She alleges a funeral director told her the wrong body had been buried there.

Amanda says workers then placed a brown wooden casket into the same grave.

The petition also describes a troubling incident at White Earth Cemetery on May 23.

Relatives of Herbert Libby Jr. expected a black metal casket for his burial, according to the filing.

Instead, a brown wooden casket arrived, prompting family members to request that it be opened.

A relative reportedly recognized the person inside as Donald Bohn, who had died May 13.

But Bohn’s sister-in-law had collected what the funeral home described as his cremated remains on May 22.

According to the petition, Herbert Libby Jr. was brought to White Earth Cemetery in a black metal casket on May 24.

The filing identifies Northern Peace Funeral Home as the business handling the arrangements.

It does not include the funeral home’s response to these allegations.

Aaron and Andrew Fairbanks want an exhumation to establish whether Brian’s remains are in his family’s burial plot.

Their attorney, Michael D. Sharkey, requested an expedited hearing before winter frost makes excavation more difficult.

The proposal calls for licensed funeral directors to assist with the process and help verify the remains’ identity.

The filing does not establish whose remains are currently buried in Brian’s grave.

It also does not contain a ruling approving the exhumation.

Minnesota’s disinterment law sets rules for removing remains and opening caskets.

Readers can search case 04-CV-26-2779 through Minnesota Court Records Online.

For the Fairbanks family, the central question remains whether Brian was buried where they believe he rests.

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News.

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