WINONA, Minn. – Game wardens in airboats rescued a Winona man lost in the dark in the Prairie Island backwaters after he ran off a road and then, apparently in a stupor, perhaps from the wreck, wandered into swamps. Searchers with a drone and K-9s could hear Joseph Bernard Diekmann, 33, Winona, yelling for help, but he wasn’t located until more than five hours after the accident. He was lifted into one of the airboats and taken to the Vercohta boat landing near the Mississippi River spillway. He was unhurt. Deputies had found Diekmann’s vehicle, a GMC Acadia, down a rocky embankment about 9:40 p.m. With no driver around, deputies notified the vehicle owner, and Diekmann’s father set out to look for the son. The father could hear cries for help but couldn’t figure out where. He called deputies to come back. The search was extensive:
> Sheriff’s dive and rescue team.
> Sheriff’s deputies with a drone and a thermal scope.
> Natural Resources Department wardens with two airboats.
> Sheriff’s deputies with K-9 aide.
> A State Patrol helicopter.
Deputies said Diekmann had been drinking. Asked after the rescue why he fled, he told deputies: “An idiot.” No charges were filed pending further examination of circumstances. Apparently Diekmann had been alone when he ran off the road. He said he fell asleep at the wheel.