A rescue operation in the remote Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness ended with both a father and son extracted safely Friday morning after the father suffered a back injury.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office got a distress signal at 9:55 a.m. on May 29 from the southern edge of Lac la Croix, which sits on the international border almost directly north of Ely.
The 59-year-old father from Louisville, Kentucky, was suffering from a back injury while he and his 17-year-old son were on vacation.
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Due to the remote location, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office contacted the U.S. Forest Service, which deployed aircraft to the GPS coordinates. The St. Louis County Rescue Squad coordinated the rescue operation.
Both the father and son were flown to the U.S. Forest Service seaplane base in Ely, where an ambulance transported them to the Ely hospital. The father was treated for his back injury and released, the sheriff’s office said.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the operation by the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, the U.S. Forest Service, the Ely Ambulance Service and a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer.
