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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff

Preliminary evidence: Missing Stillwater man likely died of exposure to cold

A set of police vehicle lights in the dark.
Musser was reported missing after being last seen just after 2 a.m. Saturday.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

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Authorities in Washington County say it appears that a 20-year-old Stillwater man found dead Christmas night, after going missing earlier in the weekend, died from cold weather exposure.

a profile image of a white young man.
George Musser
Courtesy of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday reported that the Ramsey County Medical Examiner confirmed the body found Sunday night along Osgood Avenue in Baytown Township was George Musser. Hundreds of people had searched for him on Christmas Day — and after his body was found, hundreds of people gathered Monday night for a vigil to remember him.

Musser was reported missing after being last seen just after 2 a.m. Saturday, leaving Brian's Bar & Grill in downtown Stillwater. He left the bar “in subzero temperatures wearing only a flannel shirt, jeans, stocking cap, and shoes,” the sheriff’s office reported.

Musser’s body was found about two miles from downtown Stillwater.

“A progression of video footage from traffic and surveillance cameras tracked an individual matching Musser's description as he traveled alone and on foot, leading from downtown Stillwater towards the area where his body was ultimately located,” the sheriff's office said Wednesday. “Preliminary evidence indicates Musser died as a result of cold weather exposure, however the official cause and manner of death remains pending toxicology results which could take up to 60 days to complete.”

The sheriff’s office said it’s working with Stillwater police on the investigation.

Musser was a student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

“Whenever he would come into any family event, he just hugged everybody and told them he loved them,” his aunt, Anne Weber, told KARE 11.

A GoFundMe online fundraiser for Musser’s family had raised more than $50,000 as of midday Wednesday.