Rice Man Found Dead in Burned Pasture

BROCKWAY TOWNSHIP -- The Stearns County Sheriff's Office has sent the body of a Rice man to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy after his body was found in a burned field near St. Stephen.

The sheriff's office got a call Monday about a dead man in a field along River Street northwest of St. Stephen.

Officers arrived to find the body of 86-year-old Edwin Opatz. Authorities say Opatz had burns on his body and was found in a burned area of the field. It appears Opatz was burning grass pastureland earlier in the day.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.