Conservation Officer Eugene Wynn drowned in Cross Lake after being thrown from a boat at approximately 7:45 pm.

He and a Pine County sheriff’s deputy were responding to a report of a possible body floating in the lake. They had just left the boat launch when they were both thrown out of the boat into the frigid waters. Deputies on the shore attempted to reach them in a rowboat but Officer Wynn slipped below the surface and did not resurface. They were able to rescue the deputy, who was treated at a local hospital.

Officer Wynn, badge number 445 and station number K297, had served with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for 18 years. He is survived by his wife and two children.