The evidence: a man whose hands, neck, jacket and pants were covered in blood early Saturday in Fargo.
The crime scene and victim: unknown.
Fargo police asked for the public's help Wednesday in solving the mystery.
On Saturday, police arrested Terry Dahle, 42, of Fargo on suspicion of aggravated assault. They had to release him 48 hours later since police could not establish a crime or a victim and thus could not press charges against him, said Fargo Lt. Tod Dahle.
The lieutenant said he is not related to the arrestee.
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According to information gathered by police:
A clerk at a Holiday Station at 101 N. University Drive called police shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday, saying a man covered in fresh blood had just bought cigarettes from the store. Police searched the area and could not find anyone matching that description.
Two hours later, a motorist near the Fargodome called police to report a person wearing bloody clothes. At that point, officers located the man and arrested him.
Police wouldn't speculate as to the exact amount of blood on the man, but said it must have come from a much more substantial wound than a bloody nose. Blood was splattered on the man's face, covered his hands, chest area and shoulders and had dripped onto his pants and shoes.
Police sent the man's clothes to a state laboratory for testing and said they will receive the results in the next couple of days.
"We suspect it's human blood," Tod Dahle said.
The man did not have noticeable injuries, but did have a few small scratches, he said.
Police conducted extensive searches of downtown Fargo, the railroad tracks and other areas. They checked with area hospitals for more information, but came up with no useful leads.
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When questioned by officers, the man -- who moved to Fargo in the past few months -- appeared cooperative but provided no plausible explanation for the blood, Tod Dahle said.
"He acted pretty normal and didn't get upset," he said.
The man told police he had stayed in Fargo for the entire evening. He had been drinking, "I suspect to the point of intoxication," before being arrested, Tod Dahle said. But he seemed to understand the police's questions and was able to give coherent answers.
The man had bailed himself out of jail less than eight hours before police found him covered in blood, police said.
He went to jail on June 8 for having marijuana on him and trying to spit at someone.
In that case, police arrested the man after apartment residents complained he was pounding on their door and harassing them, police said.
Court records show officers detained the man, he became "extremely aggressive," screamed obscenities at officers and tried to spit at them.
In order to control the spitting attempts, officers placed a spit sock over his face while they took him to jail. Officers determined the man's blood-alcohol content to be 0.24 percent.
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Police said they believe the man had been employed before going to jail, but don't know where.
If anyone spent time with the man Friday night or Saturday morning, or if anyone has any information regarding this case, they are asked to call the Fargo Police Department at (701) 241-1405.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Lisa Schneider at (701) 241-5529
