Sheriff: St. Joseph Man Died on Northeastern Minnesota Lake

LAKE VERMILION -- A St. Joseph man has died on a lake up in northeastern Minnesota.

The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office says the incident happened just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on Lake Vermilion when 58-year-old Darrell Pfannenstein was found unresponsive in the water.

The location was in Greenwood Bay which is shallow and Pfannenstein had been first seen standing in the water next to a jet ski and was struggling to get back on. A nearby resident went over with his boat to help, but at that time Pfannenstein declined. A short time later the resident saw him walking in the water towards shore so he boated over and offered help again. As the resident approached he saw Pfannenstein was wearing a life jacket and was floating face down and was unresponsive in the water.

He was taken to shore and despite life-saving efforts by medical personnel, he was pronounced dead.

The incident is still being investigated by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.