Minnesota State Patrol rescues two stranded campers in Boundary Waters

ELY, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Two people were rescued by air from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness after losing their canoe and camping equipment in rapids.

Authorities received a 911 text on May 14 around 7 p.m. about two people stranded near Ely. The pair had gone through deep rapids, losing their canoe and all of their camping equipment.

Multiple agencies responded, including St. Louis County Rescue Squad and Ely Ambulance. The Minnesota Air Rescue Team was called in due to the dangerous conditions and remote location.

Pilot Dean Grothem took off in the State Patrol’s helicopter around 9:15 p.m., reaching the stranded pair around 10:30 p.m. He flew over the treetops and hoisted them out of the wilderness.

“They were wet. It was colder that night and the temperatures I think were forecast to get down into the low forties, if not lower, so the first thing you start to think about there is hypothermia and are they going to get through the night if someone doesn’t get down there to them,” Grothem said.

Grothem and his crew spent eight months training with the helicopter, which is one year old, preparing for this kind of rescue. The two who were rescued had no injuries and were cold.

The air rescue team says people should always have a plan and equipment to contact 911 in case of emergency when visiting the Boundary Waters.

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