Empty fishing boat on riverbank leads to man’s body, Minnesota deputies say

An empty fishing boat filled with fishing equipment was spotted along a Minnesota riverbank, authorities said.

Hours later, a body was found a mile from the boat in the St. Croix River in Stillwater Township on Monday, Aug. 8, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Registration records of the boat helped identity the owner, a 43-year-old man from White Bear Lake who had gone out to fish the night before, the sheriff’s office said.

A truck registered in his name was also parked in a lot near the river, deputies said.

The fisherman’s abandoned boat was spotted around 9 a.m. Aug. 8, deputies said. There were “no signs of obvious damage” to it.

Authorities then found a body without a life jacket on that matched the man’s description four hours later, about a mile south of where his fishing boat was found.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner has not released his identity yet.

Stillwater Township is about 30 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

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