An avid kayaker endured a frightening Saturday night on the St. Croix.
I make the lead story for Twin Cities evening ABC Eyewitness News. 

The water was running high and fast -- even prompting a recent no-wake restriction -- and it nearly took the life of kayaker Mike Stout.

Stout, of Prior Lake, was attempting to paddle from Stillwater upriver to Taylors Falls when he ran into some low hanging tree branches near the shore.

"I'm going down, so I take a sudden gasp of air -- I'm knocked over," Stout said.

Stout was trapped underwater for about 30 seconds before he broke free of the kayak and, while still holding onto it, floated downriver for a few miles while yelling for help.  

“I'm yelling out, 'Hello! Hello!' hoping someone can hear me," he said. "But no one is out at that time of night that far up the river because of the high water warnings and dangerous swift current. So I'm on my own."  

Thankfully, Stout was able to make it to shore in Stillwater.

​"I got lucky," he said.

Stout is an avid kayaker who has crossed Great Lakes Michigan, Superior, and Huron, and logs hundreds of training miles each year.​

The Washington County Sheriff's Office says paddling should not be attempted on the St. Croix during the high-water conditions and while a no-wake restriction is in place.  

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