by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
A man found dead Dec. 7 in a ditch along Hwy. 10 several miles north of Sartell was determined to have died of “environmental cold exposure with ethanol intoxication as a significant condition,” said a medical examiner.
The death was ruled accidental, according to a report from the Benton County Sheriff’s Department.
The man who died was Seth Taylor Juedes, 22, of St. Cloud, whose home town was Andover.
On the evening of Dec. 6, Juedes was out with friends, according to his girlfriend who called the police the next day, worried because he had not returned home.
Investigative officers determined he had last been seen walking alone at about 2:10 a.m. Dec. 7 in the parking lot of a nightclub on Hwy. 10 north of CR 33 and its junction with Hwy. 10. A visual search of the area located Juedes’ body in the ditch near that intersection.
According to the investigation, Juedes was with his friends that night but decided to get a ride with some other males from a bar and drive to the nightclub along Hwy. 10. When they arrived, they learned the place had just closed. His new acquaintances urged Juedes to get back in the car but instead he walked away from them. That fact was established partly with the help of video evidence from outside the nightclub.
The place where Juedes’ body was found is about one mile south of that nightclub.
The sheriff’s report stated the following:
“Juedes’ family indicated Seth Juedes was normally a responsible young man who made good decisions that kept him out of harm’s way. The family stated it’s their hope others who hear of the tragic result of the few unfortunate decisions made in the early morning hours of Dec. 7 will learn from this tragedy and consistently make good decisions, so as to spare their families the grief and pain of the loss of a loved one.”
