Wis. snowmobiler rescued after 2 nights in forest

Published 1:33 pm Wednesday, January 23, 2013

DULUTH, Minn. — A snowmobiler from Superior, Wis., is recovering in a Duluth, Minn., hospital after spending two nights in subzero cold in the forest on the Wisconsin-Minnesota border.

Craig Friebe says he was riding up the frozen Nemadji River early Saturday when he ran out of gas. He would spend over 48 hours trying to find his way back to civilization before he came upon a bridge at daylight Monday, when it was about 15 degrees below zero, and waited until a snowplow driver happened by and summoned help for him

He and his wife, Becky, are sharing their stories on the web site CaringBridge.org. She writes that he was in fair condition, still “defrosting,” and was “in a lot of pain” as of Tuesday. But she says he’s in good spirits.

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