PEQUOT LAKES — The 26-year-old Lake Shore man whose body was found in a submerged vehicle in West Twin Lake Wednesday, Sept. 28, was identified as Nicholas James Engen.
Engen was reported missing Wednesday morning after he failed to show up for three work shifts. He was last seen leaving a friend’s apartment in Pequot Lakes at 5:20 a.m. Saturday morning but did not show up for his 6 a.m. work shift that day.
Pequot Police Chief Eric Klang said dispatchers alerted local law enforcement to be on the lookout for Engen’s Ford Fusion after attempts to both call and ping his cellphone were unsuccessful.
Klang decided Wednesday afternoon to follow the route Engen would have followed to work to look for anything suspicious. He noticed vehicle tracks on the side of Highway 371 that appeared to have been from a vehicle going down into the ditch. The Crow Wing County Dive Team eventually located the vehicle upside down in about 15-20 feet of water in West Twin Lake. Engen’s body was inside.
No further details on the cause of death have been released.
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