HOYT LAKES — Cody Siebert, a Babbitt native and sergeant with the East Range Police Department, died Feb. 27 following a sudden and brief battle with a brain infection. He was 33.
Siebert woke up that morning in pain from a headache that had started the previous day, according to reports. An infection in his nasal passage had spread to his brain. He was hospitalized but continued to decline rapidly.
Less than 24 hours after his diagnosis, he was gone. The East Range Police Department, which serves the communities of Hoyt Lakes and Aurora, announced his passing the following day.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart we have to post this,” the department wrote on Facebook. “Sgt. Siebert was well known for his happy-go-lucky personality. It was best said that if you couldn’t get along with Cody, it was your fault. The hole left by Sgt. Siebert’s passing will be impossible to fill. We at ERPD love you and will miss you always. We have it from here.”
Siebert grew up in Babbitt, where his father also served in law enforcement. He spent seven years with the Babbitt Police Department, during which time he founded the department’s K9 program, partnering with K9 Taconite, known as Tac. When he joined the East Range Police Department in 2023, he brought Tac with him.
“If you run into him on the street during his last few shifts, be sure to let him know how much his time here has meant to all of us,” Babbitt PD wrote at the time of his departure.
At East Range, Siebert also served as the K9 officer assigned to Mesabi East Schools in Aurora. The district remembered him as far more than a law enforcement presence in the building.
“Our school community will never be the same,” Mesabi East officials said in a statement. “Mesabi East was truly blessed to have him walking our halls, greeting students, encouraging staff, and building relationships that went far beyond his badge.”
A GoFundMe campaign organized by Brandon Siebert and Karen Blais describes Cody as a man who never met a stranger. “To know Cody was to have a friend,” it reads. “He had a rare gift for connection — if you crossed paths with him, you knew you were in for a genuine conversation.”