A 19-year-old with deep ties to Cold Spring is now sitting in Mexican custody, wanted back in Stearns County on a felony warrant for failing to register as a predatory offender. Matias Daniel Polster was taken into custody near Celaya, Mexico, on August 17, in a joint operation involving the U.S. Marshals Service and Mexican authorities.
Stearns County issued the felony arrest warrant against Polster, numbered 26007463, on April 2, according to KNSI. The warrant came after Polster had already spent time in the Stearns County Jail, having been booked there on July 27, 2025, and released on August 4, 2025, according to Stearns County Sheriff's Office jail records.
A Stearns County deputy assigned to the North Star Fugitive Task Force tracked Polster to the Celaya area, per the same KNSI report. The task force, which is directed by the U.S. Marshals Service and operates in the District of Minnesota, pairs federal deputies with local investigators specifically to locate fugitives who have fled a jurisdiction.
A Former Rocori Soccer Player's Local Roots
Before the warrant, Polster lived in Stearns County and attended Rocori High School in Cold Spring, where he played varsity boys' soccer, according to his athlete profile on MaxPreps. That background places him squarely within the community now watching his case unfold from thousands of miles away.
The task force that found him has been busy well beyond this single case. Earlier this year, the same unit carried out a joint operation that led to 16 felony arrests tied to 33 active warrants across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Task force officers receive special federal deputations that let them cross jurisdictional boundaries most local officers cannot, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Minnesota.
What Happens Next Remains Unclear
Polster now faces legal extradition procedures to bring him back to Minnesota, though no return timeline has been announced, per the KNSI report. How quickly that happens may hinge on which legal path is used: non-Mexican citizens captured in Mexico are frequently returned to the U.S. through expedited administrative deportation, a faster process than formal treaty extradition, according to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. International fugitive apprehensions are governed by a 1978 bilateral extradition treaty between the two countries, per the same source.
If authorities instead pursue formal extradition through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, the process can take months or even years, since foreign courts control the pace of surrender decisions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That uncertainty leaves open exactly when Polster might appear before a judge in Stearns County.
The Felony Charge and What It Carries
The warrant charges Polster with failure to register as a predatory offender, itself a felony under Minnesota law. Minnesota Statute § 243.166 sets a mandatory minimum sentence of one year and one day in prison for the offense, with a maximum of five years, according to Jack Rice Defense. Registration obligations attach once a person is initially charged with a designated offense such as criminal sexual conduct or kidnapping, and they remain in force even if those underlying charges are later reduced or dismissed through a plea deal, according to McKinney Defense.
A conviction would carry consequences beyond prison time. State law automatically extends an offender's mandatory registration period by an additional five years upon conviction for failing to register, according to Brandt Kettwick Defense. Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension currently maintains active records on 19,821 registrants statewide through its Predatory Offender Registry, publicly flagging those found to be non-compliant, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
For now, Polster remains in custody in Mexico while officials in both countries determine how and when he will be returned to face the charge in Stearns County District Court.
