Drunk Austin man nearly freezes to death

AUSTIN, Minn. (AP) — Police say an Austin man is lucky to be alive after he was found intoxicated lying in deep snow nearly the city's industrial park.

Temperatures had dropped to 17 below zero early Monday when the man was found with a lightweight jacket and no gloves or hat. Police Chief Brian Krueger says it's not known how long the 28-year-old man had been outside in the brutal cold.

Krueger says police heard the man crying for help. He tells the Austin Daily Herald ) the outcome could have been different if officers had not discovered him when they did. There's no immediate word on the man's condition.

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