The 19-year-old victim of last weekend’s avalanche at Minneopa State Park near Mankato has been identified by local authorities.

The victim has been identified as Jack Loso.

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Who was Jack Loso?

Jack Loso was 19 years old. He was a resident of Robbinsdale. The young man came into the landslide close to Minneopa Falls on Saturday at 5 p.m. while visiting the park with his family, according to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office.

A landslide at Minneopa State Park Falls on Saturday night claimed the life of a 19-year-old male. Just before 5 p.m., the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a person who was buried under the ground in the park area close to Mankato.

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The individual was stuck, and emergency personnel confirmed his death on the spot. Before releasing any more information, Chief Deputy Jeremy Brennan of the sheriff’s office said that they are waiting for the results of the autopsy. Although landslides occur frequently in the Minnesota River Valley, Brennan said that this particular incident is the only time he can remember one being tragic. 

He said, “We’ve had some incidents in the state park before, such as drownings, over the years, but nothing like this.” Staff members at Minneopa State Park have temporarily closed the pathways that lead to the falls’ base out of concern.

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In a report from the previous year, the agency said that “large rock blocks can fall from cliffs due to cracks in solid bedrock, especially during freeze-thaw cycles.”

The task of mapping landslides around the state has been taken on by experts in recent years to better understand their locations and create plans for future prevention. This project was inspired by the tragic event that occurred in 2013 in St. Paul, where two youngsters were killed by a landslide while on a field trip looking for fossils.