Michelle (Schlotfeld) Leffelman compares her job as a detective in the Bemidji Police Department to putting together a complicated puzzle, only without the box as a guide and often several missing pieces.

Leffelman has been recognized for work on two high-profile cases of deadly domestic violence. In February 2015, a woman was killed in Bemidji by her boyfriend, who fled the scene. He was apprehended, and Leffelman’s investigative efforts helped send him to prison. She received the Outstate Excellence in Performance Award from the Minnesota Association of Women Police.

She then assisted in solving an October 2015 crime in which another woman was killed and her body taken to a remote site, where the remains were burned. Several people with the Bemidji police and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension gathered evidence, and three men were convicted and imprisoned. The team received the Distinguished Service Award from the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association.

“We knew there was more than one person involved,” Leffelman said of the latter case. “We had to make sure we had a solid case on each of the suspects before we went to trial.”

A 2000 BSU grad, Leffelman started in the Marshall Police Department before moving to Bemidji as a patrol officer. She also worked as a school liaison officer and in field training before being promoted to detective in 2013. At any given time, her caseload has 40 puzzles to solve, with assignments covering all types of crime.

“I am a very competitive person, and this is my competitive outlet,” said Leffelman, who lives in Bemidji with her husband, Jeremy (’98) and their four children. “It is hard not to take it personally until I can solve a case for the families.”