The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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October 30, 2009

Waterville death ruled accidental

By Dan Nienaber

WATERVILLE — A 24-year-old man who was found dead in a Waterville alley Monday died accidentally, a coroner’s report said.

The death certificate for Christopher A. Poehler was filed Friday in Le Sueur County by deputy coroner Joe Anderson. He ruled Poehler’s death was accidental, the certificate said. Causes of death included acute alcohol intoxication and hypothermia.

An investigation into Poehler’s death began at about 6:30 a.m. Monday after his body was found lying in an alley south of the Main Street business district. Poehler lived in a nearby apartment on Third Street South, a Waterville Police Department report said.

Investigators with the Le Sueur County Sheriff’s Department and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were called in to assist. Poehler’s body was sent to the Dakota County medical examiner for an autopsy.

Waterville Police Chief Brad Schultz said earlier this week that witnesses had seen Poehler at a nearby downtown bar late Sunday night. Schultz also asked for help from the public to help determine where Poehler had been that night.

The death certificate also said Poehler had a head injury that he received before the hypothermia set in. That injury did not contribute to his death, Le Sueur County coroner John H. Berg said Friday.

Schultz issued a news release Friday saying there was no risk to the public, but the death remains under investigation and more information would be released at a later time.

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