Missing snowmobiler found in Superior

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SUPERIOR - A snowmobiler missing for two days in bitter cold weather in Superior was found alive today.

A snow-plow driver found 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 with hypothermia and apparent frost-bite.

Officials said Friebe was snowmobiling on the Nemadji River, just like he told friends he would do. But his machine ran out of gas, and he had to walk a long distance to get help. Superior Fire Battalion Chief Vern Johnson said Friebe was able to build a fire for himself on Saturday night, but not last night – when the mercury 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 U.S. Coast Guard, the state DNR, and local rescuers searched for Friebe yesterday – and the search resumed this morning when he was found during the first hour.

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