State Patrol pilots use helicopter, night vision goggles to save four-wheeling man stuck in bog

Two state patrol pilots reportedly rescued a freezing man from a dark, northern Minnesota bog.

Thanks to the DRE drug scandal, the State Patrol has been receiving a lot of bad PR lately. So consider this story a reminder that troopers are capable of saving lives, as well.

According to a post on the State Patrol's Facebook page, last Friday, two State Patrol pilots daringly rescued a 27-year-old man who was partially submerged in a frigid bog.

By the time the pilots arrived on the scene, the man was already displaying symptoms of hypothermia, meaning he probably would've died if it hadn't been for the dramatic helicopter rescue.

According to the State Patrol's post, the MSP flight section received a call about 11:30 p.m. last Friday to assist Hubbard County authorities with a search-and-rescue in the Badoura State Forest near Park Rapids. A man had gone missing during a four-wheeling trip that afternoon, and had last been heard from around 6 p.m., when he called his mother to inform her he was lost.

Hovering over the forest, the State Patrol's chopper couldn't initially spot the man. But pilots were able to tell the man to turn his phone skyward in hopes of spotting a light (it isn't clear whether they communicated with him via cell phone or loud speaker). With the help of night vision goggles, that effort proved successful -- the pilots were able to spot "the tiny light through the trees."

But spotting the man was only the beginning of the drama. With the chopper hovering over the bog, the pilots tried to approach the man and hoist him into the helicopter cockpit. But they were initially unable to do so, as when they approached, "he began acting erratically, most likely caused by the onset of hypothermia."

Eventually, one of the pilots hopped out of the chopper -- submerging himself up to his knees in the bog in the process -- placed handcuffs on the man, then hauled him into the back of the helicopter. He was flown to an awaiting ambulance and should be alright, according to the post.