Inmate dies after collapsing in Moose Lake Correctional Facility

MOOSE LAKE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities are investigating after an inmate collapsed and died Sunday at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Moose Lake.

According to officials, at about 9:45 a.m. Sunday, a 48-year-old male inmate at MCF-Moose Lake collapsed while taking a shower. Officers responded immediately and found the man in full arrest.

Officers started CPR and used an automatic external defibrillator (AED) until emergency medical services personnel and police arrived. Despite the life-saving efforts, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the man had complained of heartburn to fellow inmates before he entered the shower and collapsed. 

Last week, officials confirmed that seven inmates in the state’s prison system have tested positive for COVID-19—all at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Moose Lake. However, officials said the man had "not complained of COVID-19 symptoms and was not known to be affiliated with any of the inmates who tested or were presumed positive for COVID-19."

The Moose Lake Police Department is conducting the investigation with assistance from the Department of Corrections-Office of Special Investigations.