Drowning ruled probable cause of death in Henry McCabe's disappearance

Henry McCabe, the 32-year-old Mounds View man whose body was found this month in a north-metro lake, likely died from drowning in fresh water, an autopsy by the Ramsey County medical examiner has determined.

The probable cause of death was reported Thursday by New Brighton police, who said the case remains an open investigation.

McCabe was the subject of a weekslong search after he went missing on Labor Day. Relatives and volunteers from the Liberian community combed several locations in the weeks after his disappearance before the body was found Nov. 2 by a kayaker on Rush Lake in New Brighton.

McCabe was an auditor with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. He was last seen during the early hours of Sept. 7 after having been dropped off at a convenience store in Fridley for unknown reasons. That location is at least 6 miles from where his body was found.

The last contact with McCabe was when his wife answered a call at 2:28 a.m. on Labor Day to hear what sounded like moaning and screams.

Mounds View and New Brighton police are conducting a joint investigation.

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