by Dennis Dalman
A search is underway for a man who set off in a kayak May 31 on the Mississippi River behind the Holiday gas station in Sartell.
At 3:56 p.m. that afternoon, a boater on the river saw an overturned kayak. The boater drove his boat to the kayak and then recovered it while looking around for any sign of the man who had been in the kayak, but the boater saw no sign of him and then called law enforcement for help.
Law enforcement determined who the man was and learned he had set off at Sartell in order to kayak all the way downriver to Munsinger Gardens along the river in east St. Cloud. The man’s name was not released until his family could be notified of the situation.
The missing man is a White male, 39, 5 feet 10 inches; about 200 pounds. He has short black hair (crew-cut style) and was wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt with an American-flag logo on its front.
He was paddling a red-colored kayak.
The St. Cloud Fire Department used boats to observe the river’s surface and shoreline in the place where the kayaker was last seen. The St. Cloud Police Department and Stearns County Sheriff’s Office also searched the area, using boats. The sheriff’s office, along with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, arrived at the area equipped with side scan sonar abilities to search the water under the water.
If anyone has information about the missing man, call 320-251-4240.
