Grand Marais, MN, February 08, 2022—"Guilty verdicts for Robert West is a just result and today is a good day,” said Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken. “It is still difficult to call this a ‘win’ when the family of Ricky Balsimo has lost a son, a brother, and a father.”

Hicken continued, “The resources required by this prosecution made assistance from the Minnesota Attorney General's Office essential. I am grateful for the impressive skill and hard work of my co-counsel Assistant Attorney General Dan Vlieger. Earlier acknowledgments of the immense investigative efforts of law enforcement, including the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, left out kudos for a private investigative firm called Applied Professional Services (Duluth, MN) which helped to break this case. Tom Crossmon and Crossmon Consulting, and assistance from the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office and Superior Police Department/Douglas County dive team, were also critical to locating and recovering the victim's body.”

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Contact:  Todd Ford, Public Communications Coordinator, 218-387-3508,
or [email protected]