COOK – A rural Cook building contractor drowned Sunday evening after being pinned underwater when his tractor tipped into a manmade pond. Authorities have identified the deceased as Sheldon D. Sandberg, 50, of Morcom Township. He was the owner and operator of Sandberg Construction for many years.

According to a release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, the 911 call came in at approximately 8 p.m. on Sunday, July 21. The caller reported an adult male had been in a skidsteer tractor that fell into water. St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office Supervising Deputy Shannon Schultz said Sandberg had been under water for an estimated 30 minutes before the 911 call came in.
Family members had attempted to rescue Sandberg by pulling the tractor out of the pond while emergency personnel were enroute, according to the release. Once on scene, rescue personnel were able to remove the tractor and search the pond, however, they weren’t initially able to locate Sandberg.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Rescue Squad conducted an underwater search with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Use of the ROV’s live camera and sonar technologies enabled rescuers to locate Sandberg’s body at the bottom of the pond in approximately eight feet of water.
The incident occurred on privately-owned hunting property on the 8700 block of Hwy. 5 in Morcom Township, located north of the Side Lake area. It appears Sandberg had been mowing grass with the tractor near a pond on the property. The skidsteer got too close to the edge causing the tractor to fall into the pond upside down, trapping Sandberg underwater, the release said.
The incident remains under investigation by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office with assistance by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Ramsey. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Bearville Fire Department and First Responders and Cook Ambulance assisted the sheriff’s office rescue squad during the incident.