Kathryn Woessner was found near a stuck van on a remote trail about 100 miles from home.
PARK RAPIDS, MN — Two men riding utility terrain vehicles found a missing 68-year-old woman alive Saturday after she spent three days trapped in mud beside a van on a remote northern Minnesota trail, authorities and rescuers said.
Kathryn Woessner had been reported missing June 3 and was later found far from her last known location, turning a missing-person case into a rescue in the woods near Park Rapids. Authorities said she was taken for medical care after the ordeal, while investigators continued trying to determine why she was in the area and how she ended up stuck on the trail.
Adam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin, longtime friends from West Fargo, North Dakota, were riding in the area when they came upon a van on a trail they said they did not normally take. The men first thought they might be looking at an abandoned vehicle. Then they saw what looked like a body in a muddy puddle beside it. “We noticed there was a body in the puddle next to the van,” Sandbeck said. Gravalin said the woman then made a small sound and asked for help. “That’s when we transitioned our former thoughts to, ‘This is a rescue mission,’” he said.
The men said Woessner was on her back in mud that was roughly 2 feet deep and acted like quicksand. Only part of her face was above the mud, they said. Woessner told them her vehicle had become stuck and that she slipped and fell while trying to get out. She had no personal belongings with her when she was found, according to authorities. The men said she was badly sunburned and weak after lying exposed for days. Rescue crews were called to the scene, and Sandbeck recorded video as emergency workers arrived to help free her from the mud and get her to care.
Woessner, of the Alexandria area, had last been seen June 3 near State Highway 64 and State Highway 87 south of Akeley, according to reports citing the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. She was found June 6 near a wooded trail roughly 100 miles away. The sheriff’s office had listed her as an endangered missing person because of medical concerns. Authorities have not said what route she took, why she drove into the remote area or how long her van had been stuck before she fell into the mud.
The rescue happened in a part of northern Minnesota where forest roads, off-road trails and wetlands run through wide rural stretches. Sandbeck and Gravalin said they had ridden in the broader area for years but changed their usual pattern that day. They said they had planned a different ride, then took an unfamiliar trail after their plans shifted. Sandbeck said he had never mapped that trail before. The men said the decision put them in the right place at the right time, close enough to hear Woessner and summon help before the situation worsened.
Authorities said Woessner was taken to Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd because of her medical condition. Reports said she was recovering and expected to survive. No charges had been announced, and officials had not described the case as criminal. Investigators were still reviewing how Woessner got from her last known location to the remote trail near Park Rapids, why she was without belongings and what happened in the days before she was found. Further updates were expected to come from law enforcement as the missing-person investigation shifted toward documenting the circumstances of her rescue.
The scene left a strong impression on the two men who found her. Gravalin said the first moments were tense because they did not know whether the person in the mud was alive. Sandbeck said the woman’s plea changed everything. The men stayed focused on getting emergency crews to the remote spot and keeping Woessner alive until help arrived. They later said the rescue felt unlikely because so many small choices had to line up, from the trail they took to the moment they passed the stuck van.
Woessner remained the focus of a continuing review Saturday as authorities worked to close the gaps in the timeline. The next major step is expected to be an official update on how she traveled so far from home before the rescue.
Author note: Last updated June 13, 2026.