Efforts to locate two missing individuals, part of a group of four paddlers in two canoes from the Twin Cities area, have resumed following a tragic incident over the weekend in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).
Cmdr. Nate Skelton of the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the search for the missing paddlers commenced at 7 a.m. on Monday. The operation involves utilizing a combination of ground, water, and air resources, including remote-controlled submarines, drones, and ground personnel.
According to Skelton, the incident unfolded when one of the canoes encountered distress, prompting others to offer assistance. Regrettably, both canoes were swept over the falls, complicating the search and rescue efforts due to swift water currents.
In response to the incident, officials from the Superior National Forest have temporarily closed all trails, campsites, portages, and bodies of water associated with Iron Lake until Tuesday, including specific portages and Crooked Lake west of Sunday Bay.
The ordeal began on Saturday evening when a report was received stating that the canoes had gone over Curtain Falls, located between Crooked Lake and Iron Lake on the Minnesota-Ontario border. The caller reported two missing individuals and at least one person sustaining serious injuries.
In the early hours of Sunday, a state Department of Natural Resources helicopter evacuated the two surviving canoers, one of whom sustained severe injuries and is currently hospitalized in Duluth. The Sheriff’s Office Rescue Squad safely retrieved them from a nearby campsite linked to the canoers.
The missing canoers have been identified as Jesse Melvin Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, and Reis Melvin Grams, 40, of Lino Lakes. Kyle Thomas Sellers, 47, of Ham Lake, sustained injuries during the incident, while Erik Michael Grams, 43, also of Ham Lake, escaped physical harm. Jared Jay Lohse, 33, of Cambridge, was found at the campsite.
Haugen, described by his friend Broc Vierzba as a dependable individual with military experience, was among those attempting to assist the others. The tragic events have left friends, families, and a wide circle of acquaintances devastated, as stated in a statement issued by the Rescue Squad.
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