By David Unze

St. Cloud Times

ST. CLOUD — The St. Cloud man who was missing for almost a week before his body was found Sunday near Monticello had apparently relapsed into drug use before leaving a halfway house in east St. Cloud, according to a search warrant.

The search warrant filed in Benton County District Court was requested to permit a search of Easthaven Halfway House in the 1400 block of East St. Germain Street.

According to the court document, Tyler Anthony Berg, 24, was living at the halfway house Nov. 22 when he collected clothing there about midnight and told staff that he was planning to travel to the Twin Cities metro area.

Berg’s vehicle was found seven hours later, about 7:15 a.m. Nov. 23, blocking the road in front of 104 Oakview Circle in Monticello. Investigators found Berg’s shoes and pants, which had his driver’s license inside, in nearby Otter Creek Park. The pants were wet and the shoes were wet and muddy.

Investigators used a dog to track Berg and found a black sweatshirt hanging from a tree branch south of where the pants and shoes were found. The dog tracked Berg across the Monticello Country Club golf course, but lost the track near homes in the 1000 block of Gold Course Road, according to the warrant.

Berg’s body was found across Interstate Highway 94, in a marsh behind homes on Dalton Avenue Northeast. No cause of death has been announced, and sheriff’s officials continue to investigate the case.

Investigators have a “pretty good idea where the investigation is leading,” said Wright County Lt. Sean Deringer.

He said there should be no concern about public safety related to Berg’s disappearance and death.

The search warrant indicates Berg had a history of methamphetamine use and recently had received money from family members and from a gambling trip to a casino. An acquaintance told investigators that he believed Berg had relapsed and was using drugs again, according to the warrant.

Berg had missed an appointment to meet his mother Nov. 21, instead going to the casino, according to the warrant. Berg failed to show up for an early family Thanksgiving gathering in Austin the next day and didn’t tell anyone why he wasn’t there.

A female acquaintance had contact with Berg late Nov. 22 and early Nov. 23. Berg sent her two text messages, one at 10:30 p.m. Nov. 22 and the other at 12:30 a.m. Nov. 23, according to the warrant.

“She indicated the messages were asking her if she was still planning on coming to his current location,” the warrant reads.

The woman told investigators she didn’t know what that meant.

The woman said she got a call from Berg’s cellphone at 12:30 a.m. Nov. 23. Berg didn’t leave a message.

Numerous searchers came to the scene in the days after Berg’s vehicle was found to try to find Berg. His body was found Sunday.

Deringer said he hopes there will be a final cause of death determined within the next week or two.

—Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.