BOUNDARY WATERS, MN (trfnews.i234.me) – Parts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota have been temporarily closed as the search for two missing canoeists continues.
On Sunday, officials with the Superior National Forest announced an emergency closure order due to search and rescue efforts on Iron Lake. The closed areas include land and water in St. Louis County, such as Iron Lake, the LaCroix-Bottle portage, LaCroix-Iron portage, and Crooked Lake west of Sunday Bay. Restrictions went into effect Monday and will remain until Wednesday.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office received a report early Saturday evening of a water emergency on Iron Lake. The caller reported that two canoes had gone over Curtain Falls. Two canoeists went missing, and another person in the party was badly injured. A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources helicopter extracted the injured victim and another person who was not hurt. The injured victim was taken to Essentia Duluth and is expected to survive.
The following day, search efforts resumed, and another person from the group, not involved in the incident, was flown out. The missing canoeists have been identified as 40-year-old Reis Grams of Lino Lakes and 41-year-old Jesse Haugen of Cambridge.
The St. Louis County Rescue Squad leads the search, assisted by the DNR, North Air Care, Minnesota Air Rescue Team, and Virginia Fire Department. Rapid water conditions are complicating the search. Earlier in May, a 62-year-old Duluth man’s body was recovered after his canoe capsized; he was found without a life jacket.