By Shawn Hogendorf, Correspondent 

Ryan Sauer died as a result of injuries sustained in an accident and hypothermia following the crash near County Road 66 and Beaumont Boulevard in St. Lawrence Township on Jan. 20, according to a county coroner report released Thursday.

Sauer, of Prior Lake, had a .25 blood alcohol content at the time of the accident.

Police said the last cell phone contact anyone had with Sauer was a voice mail he sent to a friend saying, “See you in the next life.”

After investigating the evidence, the Scott County Sheriff’s Office found no signs of a suicide, said Sheriff Kevin Studnicka.

 “We don’t have any evidence that showed this was a pure suicide attempt,” Studnicka said. “We investigated the incident as a vehicle accident. We didn’t find anything during the investigation that showed he intentionally drove off the road.”

Sauer’s body was found nine days after he left a friend’s house in Helena Township at about 4:30 a.m. Jan. 20. Police believe the accident happened shortly after he left his friend’s home.

Sauer was traveling west on County Road 66 when his vehicle left the paved portion of the road, went into the ditch, which was 2 feet below road level, and “catapulted” off the lip of Beaumont Boulevard, Prior Lake Police Detective Chris Olson said. The Jeep Grand Cherokee clipped the top part of a 20-foot tree, landed on the ridge of the gravel pit and rolled down the pit in a “violent collision” until the vehicle and his body came to rest at the bottom of the gravel pit, Olson said.

Discovery of Sauer’s body and vehicle were reported to Jordan police and fire by the property owner who periodically checks on the 136 acres of sand pit.

 Shawn Hogendorf can be reached at (952) 345-6374 or shogendorf@swpub.com.