Local Woman Predicted SD Arson, Warns Attacks Will Continue
Sleepy Eye resident Maureen Arneson predicted last week’s arson attack in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She even gave the exact address: 421 Asher St. So why didn’t the police stop it? Simply, no one believed her.
Maureen called the Brown County, South Dakota Sheriff’s Office just days before the fire that destroyed one home and nearly killed four people and warned officers to be on the lookout for a strange woman from out of town.
“When the lady officer asked me how I knew about the threat, that’s when I knew nothing would happen,” explained the 56-year-old Arneson. “Because I heard it from God. From His avenging angel.”
Maureen said she knows how it sounds, and as a lifelong Christian, she’s heard it all before. It doesn’t help her credibility, she admitted, that the angel’s guidance comes through her television, which she inherited with the house from her grandfather.
“People have always been scared of faith,” she said, “even in ancient times. I get that. God is scary. He’s supposed to be. But He also loves us and offers us salvation.”
Brown County Sheriff Richard Marbrant declined to comment on the tip but was quick to point out that a suspect was already in custody. The woman’s identity has been kept secret pending an investigation.
When asked what else the angel had told her, Maureen was decidedly more reserved. Some of it was private, she explained. But she assured her fellow Minnesotans that attacks by persons or forces unknown would continue, and that if she received additional tips, she would pass them on to law enforcement.
“Something incredible will happen very, very soon,” she said. “A sign. We will all see it. And we will be called into the service of the Lord. May He give us strength.”