Body Found is That of Missing Otsego Man

The Wright County Sheriff's Department has received word from the State Medical Examiner that the body they recovered from the Mississippi River is that of 51-year-old Richard S. Simon of Otsego.

Authorities launched a search for Simon last week after he walked away from his Otsego home and was missing for more than 48 hours. 

Foul play is not suspected. 

"There is no indication that would lead investigators to believe that the incident is suspicious in nature," a spokesman from the sheriff's office said. 

The search along the Mississippi River started Saturday, April 16, and ended Thursday April 21, as Wright County Deputies came across the body of an adult male near the Dayton boat landing in Anoka County.

The search began last week when the Wright County Sheriff’s Department fielded a report of a missing man Saturday afternoon.

Interviews conducted in the neighborhood of Parrish Avenue Northeast in Otsego, where the Simon lived, led investigators to the river, according to a press release issued by the Wright County Sheriff’s Department.

The sheriff’s office conducted the search with the help of neighboring authorities, including the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Department, the Elk River Fire Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol, along with the Department of Natural Resources.

Crews searched the river each day from April 16 through 19. Another pass on Thursday around 11:45 a.m. turned up the body.