Body of missing backhoe operator found (UPDATE)

Rescue workers in an inflatable raft probe around the MnDOT backhoe that fell into swollen Seven Mile Creek along Highway 169 between Mankato and St. Peter, Minn., on Tuesday. Authorities on Wednesday found the body of Michael Struck, the operator of the backhoe. (AP Photo/The Mankato Free Press, John Cross)

ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — Authorities have found the body of a missing Minnesota Department of Transportation worker whose backhoe was pulled into floodwaters in south-central Minnesota.

State Patrol spokesman Lt. Eric Roeske confirms that the body of 39-year-old Michael Struck of Cleveland was found. He did not have details.

Struck, a nine-year MnDOT employee, had been clearing debris near Seven Mile Creek Tuesday when his backhoe tipped and he fell into floodwaters between St. Peter and Mankato.

The Free Press reports Nicollet County sheriff’s deputies and Department of Natural Resources officers spent Tuesday and Wednesday in boats slowly looking around Seven Mile Creek Park.

Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com