Married Army Vet Arrested For Allegedly Murdering Bartender, Burying Her Body At His Farm

A 37-year-old Army veteran from Minnesota was arrested earlier this week for allegedly murdering a missing bartender and then burying her body at his farm.

Richard Melvin Peterson, of Isanti, was arrested Tuesday in connection to the death of 32-year-old Amanda Jo Vangrinsven, the Isanti County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released on the day of the arrest.

Peterson, a married man, was last spotted drinking with Vangrinsven on Aug. 5 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) where the latter worked as a bartender, The New York Post reported, citing affidavits.

Bar patrons claimed to have seen Peterson, who held a leadership position at the establishment, "acting affectionately" with Vangrinsven, according to the outlet.

Peterson allegedly told others he would drive the bartender home because she had too much to drink, but the two instead went to Dugout Bar and Grill in Bethel.

Vangrinsven reportedly never showed up at home and she failed to report for work at the VFW bar the next day, which prompted her co-workers to call police.

Investigators determined that Vangrinsven was last seen with Peterson and went to his home to question him, a report by local newspaper The Star Tribune said.

Peterson had told officers he dropped Vangrinsven off at a park near the VFW after she had forgotten where she lived, as per The New York Post.

Authorities, which included investigators from the Isanti County Sheriff's Office and the City of Isanti Police Department, conducted a search on Peterson's property located in the 300 block of 261st Avenue North West in Athens Township on Aug. 10, according to the police statement.

Officers allegedly found a dead body of an adult female they believed to be Vangrinsven while conducting the search. Medical experts reportedly determined the victim had been shot in the head.

Peterson, who had been in a psychiatric treatment facility in the days leading up to his arrest, was being held at the Isanti County Adult Detention Center on suspicion of murder, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reported. He has not been formally charged, according to the outlet.

"We want answers. We want justice. We want the person who did this to Amanda be held to the highest level of accountability," Vangrinsven's family was quoted as saying in a statement.

Police are still investigating the case.