Photo: Mat Napo 

From the Koochiching County Emergency Operations Center - August 5, 2022

On 08/04/2022, at approximately 2119 hours, the Koochiching County Dispatch center received a 911 call of a boating accident on Rainy Lake near Franzen Island. The reporting party stated that he and another party were severely injured. The reporting party stated they had been boating when the motor came out of the water and injured them. 

The Koochiching County Sheriff's Office, International Falls Police Department, International Falls Ambulance Service, and the Minnesota State Patrol all responded to the call. While enroute to the call, units were advised the boat with the victims was being towed by another boater to a residence on County Road 134. IFPD Officers arrived first and noted severe injuries to the victims and immediately began life saving measures. Officers and Deputies applied tourniquets to both victims and assisted medical personnel with loading the victims in the ambulance for transport to the Rainy Lake Medical Center. The victims were later transported by air ambulance to another location to receive additional trauma care.

A preliminary investigation found that the boat had struck a rock causing the boat motor to land in the boat between the operator and passenger. The motor was still running at this time and the propeller caused significant injuries to the passenger's right leg and significant injuries to the operator's left arm and left leg. Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the accident.

The victims were identified as Joshua Urban, age 32, of International Falls and Nicholas Hagen, age 34, of International Falls. There is no further information on the status of their injuries at this time. The accident remains under investigation and no further information will be released at this time.