Sheriff: Body Found In Madison Lake Search For Missing Man

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A body was found late Wednesday morning in southern Minnesota near where a search was taking place for 38-year-old Michael Brent Cook, according to the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office, with assistance from the Minnesota State Patrol Air Wing, was searching an area around Madison Lake, which is northeast of Mankato. It was part of the ongoing investigation into Cook's disappearance as he had been working in the Madison Lake area in recent months.

Authorities say just before noon Wednesday, personnel in the State Patrol helicopter located what they believed to be a body in a slough about a quarter mile northeast of the campground in Madison Lake. Authorities on the ground then located the body.

The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office said it believes the body is that of Cook, but a positive identification will be made by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office. There will also be an autopsy performed to determine a cause of death.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Nicollet County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota State Patrol and Madison Lake Police Department assisted the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office in the search. The case remains under investigation.