Carbon monoxide poisoning kills 2 in ice fishing house

Last update: January 22, 2008 - 9:39 PM

Two men discovered dead in their ice fishing house on Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, according to a news release from the Lake of the Woods County Sheriff's Office.

Ronald Dean Dunford, 53, and Daniel Fillmore Erickson, 47, both of Owatonna, Minn., were found dead about 7:30 p.m. Sunday on the ice near Baudette, Minn.

Erickson's father, Gerald, of Owatonna, said Tuesday afternoon that he was shocked because his son had been ice fishing since he was 6 and knew about safety precautions in fish houses.

"He was so safe," he said. "This was a weird, weird accident."

The Sheriff's Office said it is investigating the deaths but declined to comment further.

COURTNEY BLANCHARD

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