Cliff Buchan
News Editor

Could an injured man found lying along side the Hardwood Creek Trail in Forest Lake be related to an early morning burglary Tuesday?

Police here are investigating that possibility following a pair of incidents in the city.

The man, a 42-year-old resident of Wyoming, was found face down on the grass next to the trail by a walker around 5:50 a.m. Tuesday. The man was found near the trail west of Natureís Image.

Police said the man had a head injury of unknown origin. He was taken by ambulance to Fairview Lakes Hospital in Wyoming.

Police said the citizen who called police also told officers of a suspicious truck on the trail south of SW 11th Ave.

In checking out that report, officers found power tools along the trail, but no truck. It was then that police uncovered the burglary at Winnick Supply, 92 SW 11th Ave.

Chief of Police Clark Quiring said officers are trying to determine if the man had any connection to the burglary and how he came to be found on the trail.

The man, who was intoxicated, told police he spent Monday night drinking in Wyoming, walked to Forest Lake, and continued drinking at a downtown bar where he met a man with a pickup truck.

ìHe claims he was struck by a pickup truck,î Quiring said. But what happened between 1 and 5 a.m. is still a mystery, the chief said.

What police do know is that a quantity of cordless tools was stolen from Winnick Supply and that the early-morning arrival of police in the area likely scared off the burglars.

At Winnick Supply, police found a large hole had been cut in the southwest side of the building. Along the trail, police recovered a number of Milwaukee cordless tools that had been removed from the building.

The business was doing an inventory this week to determine its total loss.

ìWe believe they got scared off and abandoned the burglary,î the chief said.

Safe & Sober

The results of the late summer Safe & Sober saturation patrols in Forest Lake are in.

Quiring said local officers made 99 stops during the extra patrols. Police wrote 19 speeding tickets and issued 15 speed warnings. Seven drunk-driving arrests were made.

Officers also ticketed three for driving after suspension or revocation of license, charged one minor for consumption of alcohol and issued one zero tolerance ticket. One person was arrested for an outstanding warrant and one vehicle was forfeited. Two controlled substance violations also resulted in tickets.

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605