BELLE PLAINE, Minn — The body of a boater missing on the Minnesota River has been located three days after he went in.
The Scott County Sheriff's office says 62-year-old Bruce Copenhaver of Watertown left home to go fishing on Monday morning. His boat was found running and unoccupied near the shoreline a few hours later, near the Highway 25 bridge in Belle Plaine. Copenhaver's pickup and boat trailer were also still parked at a nearby boat landing.
Crews searched the Minnesota the better part of three days, until Cophenhaver's body was discovered just before 7:45 a.m. Thursday, about 500 yards from where his still-running boat was spotted on Labor Day.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said he died of probable drowning.
During the search numerous law enforcement and volunteer boats were launched at nearby landings, and officers and volunteers walked the riverbank looking for Copenhaver.
Law enforcement teams used sonar technology and a dive team to assist in the search.
Deputies from Scott and Carver Counties, State Patrol troopers and police officers from Belle Plaine and Jordan are among those conducting the search.
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