Oklee resident commits suicide

Around 6:30pm on 09/20/17, a lady contacted the Red Lake County Sheriff’s Office and requested law enforcement to check the welfare of her granddaughter at l 00 7th Ave. in Oklee. She claimed that her granddaughter was in the midst of a verbal argument with her husband, while she was speaking with her on the telephone. She was concerned because the phone call was abruptly disconnected.

Within minutes, a Red Lake County Deputy arrived at the residence. He found Aryyn Hamlin (27) of Oklee, standing outside the home with her two year old daughter. Mrs. Hamlin told the deputy that she and her husband, Michael Anthony Hamlin Jr. (25), were having an argument and he grabbed her phone and destroyed it. She told the deputy that Michael was still inside the house and nobody else was with him. 

While the deputy was speaking to Mrs. Hamlin about the incident, they thought they heard a single gunshot from inside of the house. Mrs. Hamlin claimed that there were several firearms inside of the house.

The deputy kept Mrs. Hamlin and her child outside and they waited for additional law enforcement officers to arrive. Red Lake County officers attempted to contact Mr. Hamlin on his cell phone, but could not get a response. Around 7:30pm, Red Lake County law enforcement officers, with the aid of a robotic camera, entered the house to check the welfare of Mr. Hamlin.

At approximately 7:50pm, Red Lake County officers found Mr. Hamlin deceased in an upstairs bedroom, from injuries resulting from a single, self-inflicted, gunshot wound. A .45 caliber pistol and one empty shell casing was recovered from the scene. Mr. Hamlin’s body was transported to the UNO Forensic Pathology Department in Grand Forks, ND where an autopsy will be conducted. This matter is considered under investigation until the final autopsy results are given to law enforcement.