Boat Found Circling -- 2 Men Dead

Would an airline pilot take off without his seatbelt on? The answer is obvious but all too many boaters disable their kill switch by not attaching the lanyard to themselves. On July 25 two men died on a lake in northern Minnesota and it is thought that they fell overboard. The boat was found circling without a driver and that was when 911 was called.

Using a kill switch with lanyard attached to the skipper is a "must" in small boat operation.

CASS LAKE, Minn. — Their boat was found circling on the lake about 7 pm on July 25th, and no one was in the boat. Later a call was received by authorities saying that two men had been out fishing on Cass Lake and they were overdue.

Minnesota authorities have identified the Denmark and Sheboygan men who died in a Monday boating accident -- Delmar Thielbar, 70, of Denmark, and Daniel Kramer, 52, of Sheboygan, Wis.

Cass County sheriff's investigators suspect that both men drowned, and believe that no foul play occurred, Chief Deputy Erick Hoglund said Thursday.

He couldn't say why the men were in the water, but some observers speculated that they had fallen overboard for some reason and they could not get back to the boat.

Thielbar's body was found in the lake Monday evening; Kramer's was recovered Thursday morning, Hoglund said.