Angler fatally stabbed after altercation with other fisherman along St. Croix River

A Wisconsin man was fatally stabbed after getting into an altercation with other anglers along the St. Croix River in Interstate Park Tuesday night.

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The victim – Peter Kelly, 34, of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin – was fishing on the Minnesota side of the river with another man when they got in a verbal altercation with three men on the Wisconsin side of the river, WQOW reports.

The situation escalated, and the groups confronted each other on the Wisconsin side, KSTP notes, where Kelly was fatally stabbed.

The three men immediately fled the scene, KARE 11 says.

Kelly was married and a father to five children all under the age of 9, the Pioneer Press reports. KARE 11 notes he was a popular coach in the St. Croix Falls youth wrestling program.

A GoFundMe Page has been set up to help support Kelly's family. In its first three hours online, it had raised $5,145 of its $50,000 goal.

Officials are asking for the public's help to identify the three men who were fishing on the Wisconsin side of Interstate Park between 6:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, WEAU reports.

All the men are believed to be white males in their late teens or early 20s, who fled in two separate cars with Minnesota license plates, reports say. One of the men had a golden retriever or yellow lab named Gunner with them.

Investigators are also hoping to speak with a group of five people who weren't involved with the incident, but who were at the park at the time of the altercation and may be able to provide more information, reports note.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Department at 715-485-8300.