A Washburn County farmer was rescued Monday after spending several hours trapped in a corn bin.
Sheriff Terry Dryden said Jim Frey was attempting to dislodge the auger in a corn bin at his farm in Sarona Township at about 1 p.m. Monday when he became trapped. The bin was holding an estimated 50 semi-loads of corn.
"Chief Deputy (Mike) Richter observed Jim buried in corn up to his neck," Dryden wrote in a Facebook post.
Frey was conscious and was able to communicate with responders, Dryden said, but his legs were stuck under some steel pieces in the bin.
Members of the Shell Lake Fire Department arrived on scene and began to cut holes in the sides of the bin, removing thousands of bushels of corn. Friends and neighbors helped shovel corn away from the bin, Dryden said, and the city of Shell Lake brought in a front end loader to do the heavy lifting.
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Several hours later, Frey was safely removed from the corn bin. He was flown to a Twin Cities hospital, but was in good condition Tuesday, Dryden said.
The sheriff credited first responders who have trained for corn bin rescues.
"I am thankful Shell Lake Fire had the foresight to train for these types of rescues," he said. "Very thankful for all the help from all who were there."
