Red Lake boys’ deaths ruled accident

By Chuck Haga
Star Tribune

The two Red Lake, Minn., brothers whose bodies were recovered Sunday died from accidental drowning, according to a medical examiner's provisional autopsy report released Tuesday by the FBI.

Tristan White, 4, and Avery Stately, 2, died of "probable fresh-water drowning," according to the Ramsey County medical examiner's office.

The provisional report "indicated there is no evidence of any traumatic injuries" to either boy, according to a statement from Ralph Boelter, special agent in charge of the Minneapolis FBI office.

Missing since Nov. 22, the boys apparently wandered off from outside their home on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. They were found Sunday encased in ice in a small lake near their neighborhood.

The boys' bodies were near the surface of 6 to 10 feet of water by a beaver lodge in First Thunder's Lake. They were found by members of a St. Louis County search team led to the spot by cadaver dogs.

The boys' disappearance led to fears they had been abducted. But extensive searches by tribal, state and federal agencies and hundreds of volunteers turned up no evidence of foul play.