{"id":49557,"date":"2026-09-12T04:20:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T09:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=49557"},"modified":"2026-09-07T13:20:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T18:20:26","slug":"hawley-larson-faces-kidnapping-strangulation-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/hawley-larson-faces-kidnapping-strangulation-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawley: Larson Faces Kidnapping, Strangulation Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Hawley: Larson Faces Kidnapping, Strangulation Charges<\/h2>\n

HAWLEY, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Preston Thomas Larson faces six charges after an alleged Sept. 2 incident involving a teenage girl.<\/p>\n

Larson, 18, is charged in Clay County District Court file 14-CR-26-3193.<\/p>\n

The charges include two felony kidnapping counts and felony domestic assault by strangulation.<\/p>\n

He also faces three additional domestic-related charges.<\/p>\n

Teen Reports Being Forced Into SUV<\/h2>\n

The complaint says the 17-year-old was walking in Hawley when Larson drove up in a blue SUV.<\/p>\n

Larson allegedly told her to get inside, but she refused.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say Larson then got out and forced her into the vehicle.<\/p>\n

The teen allegedly fought back while trying to avoid entering the SUV.<\/p>\n

Larson then drove about 10 minutes to Buffalo River State Park, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The teen allegedly got out and told Larson to take her home.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say Larson grabbed her and forced her back into the SUV.<\/p>\n

No police officer names are included in this report.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Preston<\/p>\n

Preston Thomas Larson | Public image<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Strangulation Alleged at Second Location<\/h2>\n

The complaint says Larson drove to another nearby location after leaving the park.<\/p>\n

The teen allegedly continued trying to leave and fought against Larson.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say Larson placed both hands around her neck during the struggle.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges the pressure interfered with her normal breathing.<\/p>\n

Police later reported seeing red marks around the teen’s neck.<\/p>\n

Larson allegedly took the teen’s phone during the incident.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors say this prevented her from calling for help or sharing her location.<\/p>\n

The complaint says Larson eventually returned the teen to school around 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

Witness Called Police<\/h2>\n

A witness also reported seeing the teen inside the blue SUV.<\/p>\n

The witness believed the teen appeared desperate for help, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

The witness became concerned enough to contact law enforcement.<\/p>\n

Police later spoke with Larson about the allegations.<\/p>\n

The complaint says Larson admitted forcing the teen back into his vehicle at the park.<\/p>\n

He also allegedly admitted placing a hand around her neck.<\/p>\n

Larson denied forcing her into the SUV during the first encounter.<\/p>\n

Six Charges Filed<\/h2>\n

The kidnapping counts cite Minnesota Statute 609.25<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each count carries up to 20 years in prison and a $35,000 fine.<\/p>\n

The strangulation charge cites Minnesota Statute 609.2247<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That felony carries up to three years and a $5,000 fine.<\/p>\n

Larson also faces interference with an emergency call.<\/p>\n

That gross misdemeanor is covered by Minnesota Statute 609.78<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two misdemeanor domestic assault counts were also filed.<\/p>\n

Those charges cite Minnesota Statute 609.2242<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charges Remain Allegations<\/h2>\n

The criminal complaint contains allegations that have not been proven in court.<\/p>\n

Larson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n

Current custody information is available through the Clay County inmate roster<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Public court records are available through the Minnesota Judicial Branch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 TRF News. All rights reserved.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Preston Thomas Larson faces six charges after prosecutors say he forced a 17-year-old into an SUV and strangled her during a Hawley incident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[13858,1145,10519,23232,24636,24637,24635,10759,13016,20680,24533,24532,786],"class_list":["post-49557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-911-interference","tag-clay-county-jail","tag-clay-county-mn","tag-domestic-assault-strangulation","tag-felony-kidnapping","tag-hawley-crime-news","tag-hawley-mn","tag-kidnapping-charge","tag-minnesota-statute-609-2247","tag-minnesota-statute-609-25","tag-preston-larson","tag-preston-thomas-larson","tag-trf-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49557"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49559,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49557\/revisions\/49559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}