Police investigating man found dead outside Bemidji's Sanford Center

Bemidji police are investigating a man who was found dead in a drainage ditch outside the Sanford Center at 4:51 p.m. Tuesday.

Police Chief Mike Mastin said the cause of death is not known at this time and will not be until results from the autopsy, which is scheduled for Thursday, are released.

The autopsy is expected to be handled by a doctor from Sanford Bemidji Medical Center. Mastin said it is likely a toxicology test will be part of the autopsy.

Mastin would not say whether officers knew who the man was or whether he has been reported missing from the area. The only description Mastin gave was the person was an adult male.

Officers were at the scene for two hours Tuesday night documenting every piece of evidence, Mastin said.

Typically when police officers find a dead body, he added, they treat the area where the body was found as a crime scene until officers know otherwise.

Occasionally police officers do respond to a report of a person found dead, Mastin said, which is the result of succumbing to winter elements. Tuesday’s average temperature in Bemidji was 33 degrees. Monday night’s temperature hit a low of 26 degrees.

“It’s been a weird winter here,” Mastin said. “In Minnesota 30 degrees is not that cold.”