Minnesota

Fish Chews on 11-Year-Old Girl's Foot, Causes Bone-Deep Cuts

Maren Kesselhon suffered deep cuts and tendon damage when she jumped off a paddleboard on Island Lake

An 11-year-old girl suffered bone-deep lacerations Wednesday when what was probably a fish chewed on her foot and ankle as she cooled off on a paddleboard in a northeastern Minnesota lake, according to news reports.

Maren Kesselhon suffered deep cuts and tendon damage when she jumped off a paddleboard into Island Lake, near Duluth, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis.

Maren tells a local station that she could feel her foot was inside a fish's mouth and kicked at it with her other foot to free herself. The doctors who treated Maren say the razor-sharp cuts probably were caused by a muskie, which inhabits Island Lake.

Also known as a Muskellunge, a muskie's diets consists of fish but can include small animals such as frogs, snakes, muskrats and mice and small birds such as duckings, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website.

A Duluth fisherman caught and released a 47-inch (120-centimeter) long muskie in the lake Wednesday.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us