Akeley Man Dies after Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Fish House
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that one man is dead after experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning while fishing Sunday afternoon on Walker Bay of Leech Lake.
A source who knows the family tells Lakeland News that the man who died was 34 year-old Jared Johnson of Akeley.
When police arrived, they found four men in a camper trailer that had been converted into a fish house.
Two were treated for their symptoms and one was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center.
Initial investigations suggest that the propane devices used to heat the fish house were not properly ventilated.
An autopsy is scheduled with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office.
This brought back some terrible memories for me. I lost my husband and my brother both at the same time on Jan 20th of 2008 of the same thing. They had been ice fishing at Lake Of The Woods and were overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning. I went to the capital in February of that year and pleaded with our governor to implement a law requiring all ice fishing houses to have a carbon monoxide detectors. Needless to say, it fell on deaf ears! It was a devastating and terrible accident that could have been avoided had they had a carbon monoxide detector in the fish house. My deepest sympathies go out to the family who lost their loved one and I pray that those that were taken to the hospital have a quick recovery. I plead with anyone who has a ice fishing house to get a carbon monoxide detector and make sure all is properly vented. My husband and brothers lives could have been saved with this simple device.