Authorities have recovered the body of a man who died after his canoe overturned on a northern Minnesota lake.
Family members of Louis Vajdl were present when the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, French Township First Responders and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office pulled his body from Shannon Lake on Tuesday afternoon, said Sgt. Nicholas Toewe of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
Shannon Lake is about 7 miles northwest of Chisholm.
A passerby discovered Vajdl floating without a life jacket near his canoe and called authorities, Toewe said.
Earlier in the morning, Vajdl, 76, of Chisholm, had told family members that he was going out to check the wild rice, something he has done for many years, Toewe said.
The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the official cause of death, but criminal activity is not suspected, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident prompted the Sheriff’s Office to remind those venturing onto the water to practice safe boating habits as the end of summer approaches and water temperatures start to cool.
