Happy Ending to Rescue on Crow River in St. Michael

A kayak trip on a Fourth of July evening turned scary Monday night as one person overturned and another man was thought missing for nearly an hour. 

St. Michael Fire and Rescue and the Wright County Sheriff's Department reponded to a call on the North Crow near Berning's Mill around 7 p.m. Monday, as a woman was caught up in a grove of trees along the river near 14123 42nd Street NE in St. Michael.

Capt. Greg Howell of the Wright County Sheriff's Office said the department assisted from the bank, but St. Michael Fire made the rescue with its Zodiac craft, specifically designed for river rescues.

Plucked from the water was 61-year-old Sandra Linblad of Becker. She told authorities she was hung up in the water when she turned her kayak to check on a male party who was kayaking with her. She believed he had capsized as well. 

Authorities searched the river for several minutes, covering ground from to the Cinemagic Theater near I-94. The river was checked several times, with St. Michael Fire crews looking for the man.

He later contacted authorities and was found at the Dayton landing, several miles upstream, and was fine. The man was not identified by authorities.  

It's the second river rescue on the Crow this year. Wright County deputies from the river at the St. Michael Rec Center back in April.