MANKATO, Minn. — Jack Loso was excited to spend the day with his sister and cousin visiting him in Mankato last December. The three decided to take a hike to the waterfall at Minneopa State Park. But the day ended in tragedy when a sudden landslide trapped Jack under tons of rock and sand.
Videos from that day shared with KARE 11 show first responders desperately digging and calling Jack’s name. By the time they found him, he was dead.
“It just, it happened really fast. It happened really fast,” said Rob Loso, Jack’s father.
Now, Jack’s family wants clear warnings to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
A camping family
Rob and Patti Loso say their son had found his place at Minnesota State University in Mankato. He was 19, studying music production. They say their son was a “quiet soul” with a quick wit. He loved the Timberwolves and had been close with his sister and cousin since they were children.
A family of campers, they weren’t surprised Jack and the girls had decided to visit a state park.
“Camping and being out in nature, and being at various state parks, national parks is just engrained in our family,” Patti said.
They never imagined the natural beauty they had enjoyed in our state would bring them such tragedy.
Without warning, a portion of the cliff face near the waterfall collapsed. Jack, who was on a marked trail, was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
“The sheer chance,” Patti said. “It could have been any family. Any child that was down there that day could have died.”
The family says they are now worried the Minnesota Department of Natural Resourcs (DNR) plans to re-open the trail without clear warnings about the potential risks.
Landslide history
Their lawyer, Jeff Storms, points to data from the U.S. Geological Survey showing high confidence landslides had happened at the location before.
“The state of Minnesota knew that this is a landslide risk, was directing people there, but wasn’t warning them about the known risk,” Storms said.
Stephen DeLong of the USGS worked on that landslide research.
“You know these are really rare occurrences. They’re difficult to predict — but they do occur,” he said.
DeLong explains landslides happen more often than people expect in Minnesota because of the soft sediment left behind by glaciers and because soft rocks like the sandstone at Minneopa Falls can be weakened by the freeze-thaw cycle and heavy rain.
While Minnesota doesn’t have mountains, the state does have steep slopes especially in the river valleys.
He says the landslide at Minneopa Falls “occurred in a place where there are steep rock cliffs around a waterfall, and these are areas where we do see rock falls from time to time.”
DNR plans
The Minnesota DNR says they're “evaluating conditions on the trail in the waterfall area of Minneopa State Park.” They expect the trail to re-open soon after inspections and maintenance are complete.
The DNR has not said whether it plans to add landslide warning signs at the trail.
That’s what concerns Rob and Patti. Still heartbroken by the loss of their beloved son, they want warnings for people to stay away from the falls — not paths leading visitors toward them.
“Their primary responsibility is to ensure not only the availability of the public to access these great places but also to ensure that their visitors are safe,” Patti said.
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