The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

February 1, 2013

Janesville man dies after car goes through ice

The Free Press

ELYSIAN — The body of Clifford Coonrod, a 72-year-old Janesville man, was recovered Friday afternoon from a vehicle he had driven through the ice on Lake Elysian earlier in the day.

The Waseca County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release it had received a 911 call at 1:21 reporting that Coonrod had failed to appear at a lunch appointment. The caller said the lunch group had gone to Lake Elysian, where they planned to fish, and found open water with tracks leading to the water and no tracks returning.

Janesville police, fire and rescue squads from Janesville and Waseca, and dive teams from Le Sueur and Rice counties also responded to the call.

Coonrod’s body was recoved at about 3:30 p.m. He was declared dead at the scene.

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