A snowmobiler missing for two days in bitter cold weather in Superior was found alive Monday. A snow-plow driver spotted 51-year-old Craig Friebe walking on the Nemadji River around 8:50 this morning. Douglas County sheriff’s deputies were called and they took him to a hospital in nearby Duluth Minnesota with hypothermia and apparent frost-bite.
Officials said Friebe was snowmobiling on the Nemadji River when his machine ran out of gas. Superior Fire Battalion Chief Vern Johnson said Friebe was able to build a fire for himself on Saturday night, but not last night, as temperatures fell to 20 below and wind-chills hit minus 40.
Friebe had not been seen since Saturday morning, when he left to go snowmobiling. The US Coast Guard, the state DNR, and local rescuers searched for Friebe on Sunday. The search had resumed this morning for about an hour before he was found.