Four county officials go overboard after airboat tips on Maple Lake

MENTOR, Minn. (Valley News Live) - Two Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies and two Polk County Highway Department employees ended up in Maple Lake near Mentor, after the airboat they were on tipped and sank to the bottom.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office was helping the Highway Department install buoys on the east shore of Maple Lake on Wednesday, June 22. Around 9:15 a.m., the airboat tipped over.

The sheriff’s deputies were transported by private vehicle to Essentia Hospital in Fosston with non-life-threatening injuries. The Highway Department personnel were not hurt. All four were wearing life jackets.

The airboat belongs to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The Grand Forks Sheriff’s Office Dive Team was called to help recover the airboat.