Man drowns in Sauk River in Stearns County

WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man has died after he was swept underwater in the Sauk River over the weekend near Cold Spring, Minnesota.

The Stearns County Sheriff's Office along with city rescue crews responded around 1:45 p.m. on Sunday for the report of a man in the river about 40 feet from the shore off County Road 49 near Oster Point Road, less than a mile south of Cold Spring.

Deputies say the man, identified as 69-year-old Lee Ellwein, was attempting to recover something that had been blown into the river by high winds when he went under. Deputies say he was underwater for 15 to 20 minutes before being pulled out of the river by rescue crews.

At the time, the water temperature was estimated to be 53.2 degrees.

Rescue crews tried to revive Ellwein after the rescue, but he was ultimately pronounced dead.