otter tail county, Minn.

A 76-year-old duck hunter from St. Paul was found dead after an apparent water accident last weekend in northwestern Minnesota. On Friday, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office was notified by a woman that her fiance had not been heard from since Wednesday. The caller noted that David Josephson had planned to hunt and fish while staying at a resort near Underwood.

The sheriff’s office reported that deputies looked for the man at the resort, but no pickup, trailer or boat belonging to him was found at the business. The deputies also checked the public access at Fish Lake but no contact was made with Josephson. Deputies called the woman back and advised her how to make a missing person’s report.

Then on Saturday, a group of duck hunters located an overturned boat about 150 yards south of the public access on North Turtle Lake near Underwood. The group reported a possible drowning.

Deputies and state conservation officers responded and recovered Jospehson’s body. The sheriff’s office stated it was apparent that Josephson was duck hunting at the time of the incident. He was not wearing a life jacket.

Josephson’s body was transported to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

— Forum News Service

Motorist killed in collision last week

An Apple Valley man died in a car crash last week at the intersection of Dorchester Trail and Pilot Knob Road, authorities said.

The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office identified the man as Alimdjon Pirnazarovich Tashniyazov, 72, of Apple Valley.

Police gave the following details about the crash:

At about 3:47 p.m. Thursday, several people called 911 to report a crash at the intersection of Pilot Knob Road and Dorchester Trail in Apple Valley. Police, fire and paramedics responded and found two vehicles with “significant damage and two severely injured occupants.”

Tashniyazov, one of the drivers, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say while the investigation is ongoing with help from the Minnesota State Patrol, the preliminary investigation suggests that Tashniyazov failed to yield to northbound traffic as he entered Pilot Knob Road from Dorchester Trail.

There was no available information Monday on the condition of the other injured party or which vehicle they were in at the time of the crash.

— Kristi Miller

Missing autistic child found dead in pond

Police in Eden Prairie ended a search for a missing child on Sunday night after recovering a body matching his description from a nearby pond.

Eleven-year-old Mohamed Mohamed was last seen at his home near Eden Prairie Center just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday, according to police. He was autistic and non-verbal. Eden Prairie authorities launched a search with assistance from K-9 units, drones and a state patrol helicopter.

Police found a body matching Mohamed’s description in a pond near his home around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Water Patrol and the county medical examiner are assisting with an investigation.

It’s the second apparent drowning of a child with autism in the west metro this year. A missing 4-year-old in Hopkins was found dead in Minnehaha Creek after a search in June.

— Forum News Service