A person was found dead in a wooded area near East River Parkway and Oak Street in Minneapolis on Sunday evening, according to the Minneapolis Park Police. Officers responded to the report around 6 p.m., and the individual was pronounced dead at the scene near East River Flats Park, along the Mississippi River gorge on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota campus.
According to KSTP, the person's cause of death remains unknown, and officials have said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office and Minneapolis Park Police will release more information as the investigation continues. As reported by FOX 9, both the Minneapolis Park Police and the Minneapolis Police Department responded to the scene, with Minneapolis police assisting park officers in the initial response.
A Wooded Stretch Along the River Gorge
East River Flats Park sits at 351 East River Parkway near Oak Street, an area known for its wooded riverbank trails and parkway access along the Mississippi River gorge, per the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. The park effectively connects the University of Minnesota's East Bank campus with public riverfront trails, making it a heavily used corridor for students and residents alike.
The Minneapolis Park Police Department, established in 1887, holds full law enforcement authority throughout the city and maintains jurisdiction over parkland and parkways, including the stretch where the body was discovered. The department employs more than 30 sworn officers and 20 park patrol agents responsible for policing over 6,800 acres of parkland, and it responds to more than 13,000 calls for service each year.
Determining Identity Falls to the Medical Examiner
Under Minnesota Statute Chapter 390, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office is legally required to investigate all sudden, unexpected, or suspicious deaths in the county, a process that includes establishing an official cause and manner of death and notifying next-of-kin. The office, which operates independently from law enforcement agencies, is the largest medical examiner office in the state and serves Hennepin, Dakota, and Scott counties from its facility in Minnetonka, employing a full-time forensic anthropologist to assist with human identification and complex scene recovery.
The individual's identity, cause and time of death, how long the body may have been in the wooded area, and whether foul play was involved all remain open questions. Officials have not indicated whether the death is considered suspicious, and no further details are expected until the medical examiner and Minneapolis Park Police formally release findings.
Part of a Busy Summer Along the River
This is not the first river-adjacent death investigation in the area this year. On July 19, Minneapolis Park Police officers responded to a separate incident involving a body found in the Mississippi River just south of the Stone Arch Bridge, according to the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. Earlier this month, a weeklong search ended in tragedy when authorities recovered the body of a missing 77-year-old Mendota Heights man downstream in Pierce County, Wisconsin, on August 4.
The wooded stretch near East River Flats Park has drawn scrutiny before. In December 2011, a 22-year-old University of Minnesota student was found dead along the same riverbank near East River Parkway, prompting a joint response from University police, Minneapolis Police, Park Police, and the medical examiner, according to The Minnesota Daily. That death was later determined not to be suspicious.
Despite these incidents, park officials maintain that Minneapolis parkland remains relatively safe. While parkland makes up roughly 18 percent of the city's total land area, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board reports that only about two percent of all crimes in the city occur within park boundaries.
