RED WING — A 21-year-old man who was seriously injured after jumping into the Mississippi River on Saturday night was rescued by emergency responders in boats.
The accident happened shortly before 8 p.m. on a sand island in the Mississippi River. The island is one mile north of Lock & Dam No. 3. Sgt. Scott Powers, with the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office, said the Wisconsin man had climbed a tall tree with a rope swing and a ladder system on it. Once the man was 30 feet up the tree, he jumped into the river at a point where it is 3 feet deep.
The Red Wing Fire Department and the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office responded to the accident with rescue boats. The fire department transported the patient to Treasure Island Marina, where they were met by Red Wing Ambulance. The patient was then airlifted to a hospital via North Air Care.
The victim was identified Monday by a spokeswoman from the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office as Nathan Kinneman, of River Falls, Wis.
A Red Wing Fire Department press release says the man suffered a "traumatic injury" and was in "fair condition" at the time he was airlifted. However, an updated condition is not available because officials don't know which hospital Kinneman was transported to for medical care.
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Powers said the Corps of Engineers island where the accident happened is a popular spot for boaters and swimmers. It sits on the Minnesota side of the river.
"We'll probably go up and try to dismantle the rope swing somehow, but the problem is it's hard to do that," Powers said. "People keep trying to build on it or put it back together."
