Abandoned Fishing Boat, Man's Body Found In St. Croix River

STILLWATER, MN — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a body was found in the St. Croix River in Stillwater Township on Monday.

Just after 9 a.m., authorities were alerted to an abandoned fishing boat along the Minnesota shoreline near the St. Croix Boom Site. Deputies found the boat unoccupied but full of fishing equipment.

There were no signs of obvious damage to the boat, according to investigators.

According to registration records, the boat belongs to a 43-year-old man from White Bear Lake, authorities said. Police also found a truck that belongs to the same man was in the Boom Site parking lot.

Deputies contacted the man's family, who said he often fishes that stretch of the river alone and into the late evening. The man had left to go fishing last night and hadn’t returned, the family said.

At about 1 p.m. on Monday, a body matching the man's description was found a mile south of where the abandoned boat was located earlier that day.

The man not wearing a life jacket when his body was recovered, authorities said.

The identity of the deceased, along with any additional information, will be released by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner pending investigation and notification to next of kin.