---

    UPDATED: Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk reports that on December 9th, 2024, at 5:57 p.m., the Cass County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received 911 reports of two individuals that were travelling on an ATV and had gone through the ice on Blackwater Lake in Woodrow Township, rural Longville. Their location was calculated using 911 mapping technology. Responders and Deputies arrived in the area and located a male, age 20, in the water. The male, Dylan Wheeler, was rescued and transported to shore where he was treated by EMS for exposure and hypothermia before being transported to a St. Cloud Hospital via helicopter and is expected to make a full recovery. The search continued into the evening for the second male Blake Herman, age 18, of Brainerd but was unsuccessful. Herman’s body was recovered at 12:55 p.m. the following day. An autopsy is scheduled with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office. 

   Assisting at the scene and with the rescue and search recovery efforts is the Longville Fire Department, Lake Country First Responders, North Memorial Ambulance, North Memorial Air Care, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Walker Fire Department, and the Lakes Area Dive Team. 

---