47-Year-Old Man Attempting to Assist Dog Drowns on Gun Lake in Northern Minnesota

Palisade, MN (MinnesotaNow)- A 47-year-old man has lost his life in a drowning on a northern Minnesota lake last weekend.

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That’s according to a news release issued by the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday morning. 

First responders were called to the report of a drowning around 12:30 Sunday afternoon. 

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47-Year-Old Isanti Man Drowns on Gun Lake in Northern MN

The tragic incident occurred on Gun Lake, which is about 45 miles northeast of Brainard. 

The Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office identified the drowning victim as Randy Benson of Isanti. 

A 911 caller reported hearing a neighbor call for help and seeing an individual struggling in the lake in an apparent attempt to help a dog, the news release says. 

Neighbors Find Man Struggling in Water, Bring Him to Shore

Neighbors came to assist and found an unoccupied boat. 

They located the man’s body after a roughly 15-minute search using personal watercraft. He was found slightly submerged, the news release says. 

The neighbors brought him to shore and immediately began CPR. They continued to do so until law enforcement and EMS arrived at the scene. 

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Despite the life-saving efforts Benson was pronounced dead at the scene. The news release does not make a further mention about the dog.