SAWYER – A Sawyer bar owner has been arrested for permitting and serving 15 minors in her establishment.

Cynthia Ellis, 59, Sawyer, was charged after Ward County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of minors being served inside the Whisky Bandits bar in Sawyer. Deputies determined that 17 minors were present inside the bar, and 15 of them had been consuming alcohol, according to a release from Ward County Sheriff Robert Roed. All 17 of the minors were cited for being in a liquor establishment and 15 were cited for unlawful consumption of alcohol by a person not aged 21.

The release reported Ellis was on the scene and operating the bar at the time of the incident. Ellis was arrested for permitting the minors to be in the establishment. No charges are active as of yet, according to court records.