Charges Could Be Dropped Against Stillwater Bar In Death Of Minor

STILLWATER, MN — The Stillwater bar accused in the death of George Musser, a 20-year-old whose body was found on Christmas Day 2022, has reached a "continuance for dismissal" agreement with the state.

Under the agreement, the state agrees to suspend the prosecution and dismiss the case entirely if the bar completes a 12-year probationary period.

In May, Brian’s Bar and Grill was criminally charged with providing liquor to a person under 21 and permitting a person under 21 to consume alcohol.

About two weeks before Musser went missing, his mother contacted Brian’s Bar and Grill and said her son was getting into the bar underage and getting drunk there, according to the criminal complaint.

The manager told the mom that Brian’s Bar and Grill was aware of the problem, investigators said.

On Dec. 23, 2022, Musser entered Brian’s Bar and Grill, approached a bartender and ordered alcoholic beverages, according to the criminal complaint. The bar sold him alcoholic beverages without asking for identification, police said.

Brian’s Bar and Grill sold alcohol to other underage customers that evening and early the next morning, according to investigators.

Musser "consumed a substantial amount of alcohol" and he became "extremely impaired, departing the bar, and walking in extreme temperatures until he collapsed, and ultimately, deceased," the criminal complaint states.

The 20-year-old was reported missing after he left Brian's Bar and Grill just after 2 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24. Temperatures in the area were below zero at the time, according to authorities.

Musser left the bar alone wearing only a flannel shirt, jeans, stocking cap, and shoes, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

"A progression of video footage from traffic and surveillance cameras tracked an individual matching Musser's description as he traveled alone and on foot, leading from downtown Stillwater towards the area where his body was ultimately located," the sheriff's office said.

Following a community-wide search, authorities found Musser's body just after 7 p.m. on Christmas Day near the 5400 block of Osgood Avenue North.

Musser's car was found parked in downtown Stillwater. Musser's wallet was found outside a different restaurant close by, and his keys were found near a dumpster, the Star Tribune reported.