Rescue Crews Locate Missing Canoers in BWCA

UPDATE: Rescue crews have located the missing individuals in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

Around 1 a.m. Friday, a fixed wing aircraft of the Minnesota State Patrol was searching near Oyster Lake, and spotted the lost party when they used a flashlight from the ground to signal the plane.

The party was retrieved by an Air Guard helicopter out of Duluth.

There were only two individuals, Charles Kelly, 66, of Brooklyn Park and Pamela Scaia, 65, of New Hope, as opposed to the three originally reported.

Both were uninjured, but taken to Ely Hospital as a precautionary measure.

ORIGINAL REPORT:

BWCAW, Minn. – The St. Louis County Rescue Squad is currently searching for a group overdue from a canoe trip off of the Echo Trail in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

Crews are looking for a part of three, two males and one female, that were due out of the wilderness area on Monday, May 29.

Rescuers began the search at the Moose River access, which is believed to have been the group’s initial access point.

The search consists of land, air, and water resources at this time and is ongoing.