On August 15, 2021, at approximately 12:22 A.M., the Stearns County Communications Center received the call of an incident on the Wobegon Trail just east of Sauk Centre near 415th Str. in Sauk Centre Township. The caller reported several people injured on the trail including one person who was not breathing.
Stearns County deputies, along with officers from the Sauk Centre Police Department and Melrose Police Department responded to the scene. Upon arrival they found Kolten Kuhlmann, 23, Margaret Stepan, 35, and Scott Nathe, 50, all of Sauk Centre, severely injured and on the Wobegon trail. Nathe was found unconscious and not breathing.
All three parties were treated on scene and the transported to area hospitals. Nathe to the Sauk Centre hospital and Stepan and Kuhlman to the Melrose hospital. Deputies were informed that Wilder Kuhlmann, a fourth victim, had been taken to the Sauk Centre hospital by private vehicle. Nathe was later pronounced dead at the Sauk Centre Hospital. Wilder Kuhlmann was later airlifted from the Sauk Centre Hospital to the St Cloud hospital for further treatment.
The initial investigation determined that Wilder Kuhlmann was operating a 2020 Polaris Sportsman 850 HD Class 1 ATV with Kolten Kuhlmann sitting on the front rack, westbound along the Wobegon Trail which is closed to motorized vehicles. The ATV struck Nathe and Stepan sending both parties down a steep embankment on each side of the trail. Both Wilder and Kolten Kuhlmann were thrown from the ATV and ended up alongside the trail. The crash remains under investigation, and alcohol does appear to be a contributing factor.
The Stearns County Sheriffs’ Office was also assisted by the Sauk Centre FD, Sauk Centre and Melrose ambulance, and Life Linc and North Air Care Helicopters.
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