22-Year-Old MN Man Died of Exposure to Cold After Drinking

A medical examiner has issued the final report on the death of a 22-year-old man from St. Cloud who went missing in December. The medical examiner found that Seth Juedes' death was the result of exposure to the cold with alcohol consumption as a "significant condition."

On Dec. 6 at 2:54 p.m., Seth Juedes’ girlfriend reported him missing to the St. Cloud Police Department because she had not heard from him since late the prior evening when he was out with friends.

On the morning of Dec. 7, a St. Cloud police investigator discovered Juedes' body in a ditch near the intersection of County Road 33 and Highway 10 in Benton County.

The investigation into Juedes’ death indicated that he had been out with friends at a bar in St. Cloud and during the early morning hours of Dec. 6, Juedes voluntarily left the company of his friends and went alone to a different bar, according to a news release.

At this establishment, he became acquainted with a group of men already there. At around 2:00 a.m., Juedes rode with the group of men to a different bar in the area. However, it turned out that business closed just prior to their arrival.

Video evidence and interviews indicated Juedes then refused the repeated offers of his new acquaintances for him to get back into their vehicle. Instead, police say he decided to walk away from them.

Juedes’ body was found on Dec. 7 about half mile south of the business on an entrance ramp to Highway 10.

Juedes’ family said Seth was normally a responsible young man who made good decisions that kept him out of harm’s way. The family told police that it is their hope others who hear of the tragic result of the few unfortunate decisions will learn from this tragedy and spare their families the grief and pain of the loss of a loved one.

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