Bryce Campbell (Oakland County, Mich. Jail)
GRAND MARAIAS, Minn. (KFGO) – The owner of the historic Lutsen Resort on Minnesota’s North Shore has been charged with arson and insurance fraud more than a year after a fire destroyed the resort’s lodge.
Bryce Campbell, 41, was arrested in Southfield, Michigan, on Wednesday and is pending extradition to Minnesota.
The fire destroyed the building shortly after midnight on Feb. 6, 2024. The lodge’s night auditor called 911 to report smoke rising from the ground. According to the criminal complaint, he tried to contact Campbell, but then called Campbell’s husband to tell him that the resort was on fire.
Court documents say the husband tried to call Campbell dozens of times, and eventually Campbell called him back at 3:14 a.m. In an interview with law enforcement, Campbell admitted that he stopped at the resort on the night of the fire, at around 11:45 p.m.
Campbell purchased the resort in August 2018 for $6.75 million and entered a contract-for-deed with his other company to purchase Superior Shores Resort for $14.5 million in January 2020.
Shortly before the fire, the resort owed 80 entities $500,000 and owed $521,000 to Lutsen Resort’s previous owners.
Insurance records also indicated that in August 2022, Campbell increased the policy from $8.49 million to $11 million, and increased the price again in May 2023 to $13 million, according to the complaint.
The investigation by the state fire marshal determined that the fire started in the southwest part of the basement.
The fire marshal said that there was residue near the water heater. The fire marshal was not able to pinpoint how the fire started.
Campbell filed an insurance claim of $16,565,901 in October of 2024.
The history of Lutsen Lodge goes back 140 years when land was purchased by Charles Nelson, a Swedish immigrant. The lodge building was constructed in 1949 but burned down two years later. The building that burned in 2024 was a replica of the original lodge, built in 1952.
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