North Branch man dies in 2nd snowmobile crash on Arrowhead Trail this winter

ORR — A North Branch man died in a snowmobile crash late Thursday, March 5, north of Orr.

Law enforcement responded to a report of a single snowmobile crash — roughly 25 miles north of Orr on the Arrowhead Trail — just after 10 p.m. Thursday, according to a news release from the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office.

The reporting party said a friend had been separated from the group of riders. The lost friend, a 29-year-old North Branch man, was found dead 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.

The man's name had not been released as of Monday morning. The sheriff's office and the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office are investigating the crash.

This is at least the third fatal snowmobile crash in Northern Minnesota this year, and the second on the Arrowhead Trail; a man from the south metro died in early February on the trail about 20 miles north of Orr.

There were three fatal crashes last winter, according to the Department of Natural Resources.