Authorities on Tuesday night found the body of a man who apparently drowned Monday while trying to swim across the Mississippi River in St. Cloud.
Witnesses told police they saw a man walk into the river near the 700 block of 5th Avenue N. and start swimming to the east side. They called police about 4:37 p.m. Monday when they lost sight of the man as he reached the middle of the river, said police spokesman Jeff Oxton.
The man was wearing bluejeans and a white T-shirt when he was last seen.
Members of the St. Cloud Fire Department, the Stearns County Dive Team and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources used sonar and boats to search the river while the St. Cloud Police Department used a drone to conduct a ground and aerial search.
The search resumed Tuesday and sonar located what was possibly the man's body about 7:30 p.m. Divers pulled the body from the river about 8:25 p.m.
Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768
