Body of One of Two Missing BWCA Canoers Found
Search for the two men has been going for two weeks.
Over Curtain Falls May 23
(Updated May 31, 4:41 p.m.)
The body of a missing canoeist has been found in the BWCA.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s office says they found 41-year-old Jesse Melvin Haugen. The Cambridge, Minnesota man was one of two canoeists missing after four people went over Curtain Falls near the Canadian border.
In a press release, the department said the search will continue for Reis Melvin Grams of Lino Lakes.
The Sheriff’s office said that weather and water conditions have affected the search, and more rainfall is coming this weekend. A crew of 8-12 people on the ground at a base camp have been using boats, canoes, drones and K-9 teams.
The search will continue next week, but no flights in or out are available until Monday.
(May 23, 7:00 p.m.)
Gov. Tim Walz has authorized the Minnesota National Guard to support search and rescue operations in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), according to a news release Thursday.
On May 18, four people in two canoes went over Curtain Falls near the border of Canada when two of the Minnesota residents went missing.
“No one expects their vacation to turn to crisis. Yet, when four canoeists went over Curtain Falls in the BWCA, this became a reality,” said Governor Walz. “My family is intimately familiar with the fear and heartbreak these canoeists are feeling. We are praying for those involved and immensely grateful to everyone from the Sheriff’s office to the National Guard who are supporting this mission.”
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay told FOX 21 on Thursday that the mission has officially turned from a rescue operation to a recovery.
The Minnesota National Guard will provide a CH-47 (Chinook) helicopter and four crew members for the mission. The crew has been requested to provide lift assets to transport a boat and additional equipment from the Ely airport to the Curtain Falls area.
