Second Fatal Snowmobile Crash This Winter Strikes Arrowhead Trail Near Orr

A 29-year-old man from North Branch was found dead roughly 25 miles north of Orr on the Arrowhead State Trail on March 5, after his snowmobile struck a tree on a sharp corner late at night, marking the second fatal crash on that trail this winter and at least the third snowmobile fatality in northern Minnesota this season.

St. Louis County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the trail just after 10 p.m. Thursday after receiving a report from a group of riders who had noticed one of their friends was missing. The lost rider was located about an hour later, lying near his snowmobile. The sheriff's office said it appeared the man hit a tree on a 90-degree corner on the trail. His name had not been released as of Monday morning. The sheriff's office and the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office are investigating the crash.

The March 5 death came less than five weeks after a separate fatal crash on the same trail. On February 3, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office responded at approximately 12:26 p.m. to a collision on the Arrowhead Snowmobile Trail approximately one mile north of Sheep Ranch Road in Unorganized Township 67-20, north of Orr. A 911 caller reported that two snowmobiles traveling in opposite directions had collided, throwing one rider from his machine and leaving him unresponsive.

According to the sheriff's office's initial investigation, both machines were operated by lone riders traveling opposite directions when they entered a curve. "While navigating a curve in the trail, the snowmobiles collided in a side swipe fashion," the sheriff's office said in its press release. "The victim's snowmobile subsequently lost control and rolled several times, ejecting the male operator, who sustained fatal injuries." A 57-year-old man from the south metro area was pronounced dead at the scene despite extensive lifesaving efforts. The other operator was uninjured.

That February response drew agencies from across the region. The sheriff's office was assisted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Bois Forte Police Department, the Virginia Fire Department's newly established ALS Sprint Medic, Life Link III air ambulance, Orr Ambulance, Orr Fire Department, and Kabetogama First Responders. The identity of the February victim was withheld pending notification of family.

The two Arrowhead Trail deaths are part of a troubling pattern this winter. KAXE reported the March 5 crash was at least the third fatal snowmobile incident in northern Minnesota this season. For comparison, the Department of Natural Resources counted three fatal snowmobile crashes across all of last winter statewide, according to KAXE's reporting.

Neither victim has been publicly identified. The St. Louis County Sheriff's Office listed Sgt. Wayne Toewe at (218) 312-0231 as the media contact for the February crash. The sheriff's office can also be reached at (218) 726-2340.