35-Year-Old Man Dies After Falling Into Grain Bin At Stearns County Farm

A farmer from Albany died in a farm accident on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 after being buried in corn in a grain bin in St. Martin Township.

According to the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office, they received a call at 10:16 a.m. about a missing individual on a farm in St. Martin Township. The caller stated they could not find their son, 35-year-old Brandon Schaefer, and believed he may have fallen into a grain bin.

The St. Martin Fire Department worked diligently in the grain bin, which was ¾ full of corn, according to the release from the sheriff’s office. They recovered the victim inside the bin. Preliminary investigation indicates Schaefer was working in the grain bin to loosen up the frozen corn and fell in and was buried.

Schaefer was transported to the Paynesville Hospital by ambulance where he was later pronounced dead.