41-Year-Old Man Drowns in Minnesota Lake After Attempting to Fix Boat Motor

A 41-year-old man died Saturday, August 10th, while boating on a northern Minnesota lake. Numerous agencies responded to the lake to begin search efforts after law enforcement received an emergency call just before 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Nearly two hours after that call came in, authorities located the victim’s body.

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The Cass County’s Sheriff’s Department posted an update late Sunday its Facebook page. “On Saturday August 9, 2025 at 5:50 PM the Cass County Sheriff’s Office received 911 reports of a person in the water and not resurfacing on Cass Lake.”

Assisting the Sherrif’s department was the Cass Lake Fire Department, Leech Lake Ambulance, Leech Lake Tribal Police, Leech Lake Department of Resources Conservation, MN DNR Conservation, US Forest Service Law Enforcement, and Lakes Area Dive Team.

Authorities say a 41-year-old male from Grafton, North Dakota got off of the pontoon to “work on a boat motor problem and didn’t resurface.” The report from the Sheriff’s Department said juveniles on the boat tried throwing a life jacket to the victim, but high winds caused the boat to start drifting away.

“The boat was later intercepted by other boaters on the lake and the incident was reported to 911. At around 7:51 PM the victim was located in the water and recovered.”

The incident remains under investigation. The victim’s name is being withheld until family members are notified. Authorities say the man was not wearing a life vest.