Officials release name of man electrocuted in St. Paul manhole

A man electrocuted when he touched a high-voltage power line in a utility tunnel may have been stripping copper, St. Paul police say.

By ANTHONY LONETREE, Star Tribune

Last update: October 24, 2009 - 1:51 PM

A 50-year-old man who was electrocuted Friday morning in a St. Paul manhole may have entered the hole to strip out and sell copper cable, according to a police spokesman.

Thomas Stanke, of Blaine, who worked for a company that contracts with a telecommunications firm, "was not doing sanctioned or authorized work" when he entered the tunnel with a saw, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, citing a preliminary investigation.

"It's believed that he came into contact with high-voltage power lines with that saw," Schnell said.

At 9:05 a.m., paramedics responded to a report of a man trapped in a manhole on Virginia Street just south of University Avenue. Instead, they arrived to find smoke, and then learned that the man had been killed, Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said.

A work truck parked nearby was blocking the southbound lane of Virginia Street, and there was a second man at the truck who was "obviously distraught," Schnell said. Investigators were trying to determine what the second man knew of the victim's activities. "We don't know how much the man who was with [the victim] was told," he said.

The company for which Stanke worked has indicated that it did not have work scheduled in the area, Schnell said.

Mary Sandok, an Xcel Energy spokeswoman, said that the man struck a 13,500-volt distribution line, one of several that power the State Capitol, St. Paul College and St. Joseph's and United hospitals. Momentary outages were reported at the college and at the hospitals, which automatically switch over to other service lines, she added.

She did not know how long power was out at the Capitol.

Zaccard said Stanke's body was recovered about 11:15 a.m. after Xcel turned off power to the line. The body was found in a confined space about eight feet below street level, he added.

Schnell said that it appeared the incident occurred just after the two men arrived, "and just after he entered the hole."

Asked what led authorities to believe the victim might have been there to strip out copper, Schnell said: "That appeared to be one of the more relevant working theories, in that he had a saw, and we know this has been a growing occurrence. People may be knowledgeable about old cable, and may try to pull old cable for the purpose of selling it."

The suspect likely knew copper was there, Schnell added, "but was unaware of the proximity of himself to high-voltage power lines."

Anthony Lonetree • 612-673-4109

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