Sophia Morin-Swanson (left) and Rick Slatten from the St. Louis County Rescue Squad. Photo by Joe Friedrichs
Paddle and Portage met with members of the St. Louis County Rescue Squad at their headquarters on the outskirts of Duluth to review the recent search and recovery operation from Curtain Falls in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
The active part of the mission came to an end June 3 following the recovery of the second of the two canoeists missing for nearly two weeks near Curtain Falls. That morning, authorities found the body of Reis Grams, 40, of Lino Lakes, Minn.
Several days before, the body of Jesse Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, Minn., was discovered during search operations in and around the BWCA. His body was found in Canadian waters approximately 2,000 ft. (0.3 miles) from the end of the Curtain Falls flowage.
Two people, Kyle Sellers, 47, from Ham Lake, and Erik Grams, 43, from Ham Lake, also went over the falls in their canoe but were found and rescued. None of the canoeists were wearing life jackets at the time of the incident.
The completion of the recovery mission brings a conclusion to at least one chapter of a story that has gripped the paddling community and nearly every corner of Minnesota for weeks.
Paddle and Portage met June 13 with Rick Slatten, the captain of the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, and Sophia Morin-Swanson, a member of the Squad, to learn more about the operation that took place in May and June at Curtain Falls.
This audio segment includes excerpts from the conversation. Become a member of Paddle and Portage to hear the nearly hour-long interview from inside the Rescue Squad headquarters.