Zumbrota, MN  (KROC AM News) -  The Goodhue County Sheriff’s Department is reporting the death of a rural Zumbrota man.

The department says 73 year old Dale Goplen was found dead at his home yesterday, the apparent victim of a tree trimming accident.

Department spokeswoman Kris Weiss says a friend became concerned when Goplen failed to show up for morning coffee Wednesday. Authorities were contacted and they found Goplen on the ground next to a tree he had been trimming.

Weiss says Goplen had put a ladder in the bucket of a tractor and was about 25 feet high when a branch he cut apparently struck the ladder and he was knocked to the ground and suffered fatal injuries.

It’s believed the accident happened sometime Tuesday afternoon.

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