Heavy rain Tuesday into Wednesday is impacting the ongoing search for two missing canoeists in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Two canoes carrying four individuals went over Curtain Falls in the BWCA Saturday night. Three others, including one who was injured, were evacuated early Sunday morning from the site. The other two canoeists remain missing.

Members of the St. Louis County Rescue Squad are still “in 24-hour operation,” according to Rick Slatten, the captain of the search and rescue team that covers Duluth, Ely, the Iron Range, parts of Lake Superior, and a large section of the BWCA.

Curtain Falls is extremely difficult to access, the rescue squad reported, and they are depending heavily on their aviation partners to transport equipment, supplies, and personnel in and out of the backcountry. The rescue squad is using a mini submarine to look for the missing canoeists near the falls, between Iron and Crooked lakes in the BWCA. This section of the BWCA was closed to the public while the search continues, though it reopens at midnight Wednesday, May 22.

Slatten said that despite the many inquiries the rescue squad have received, they do not need additional volunteers.  The squad does not need individuals with personally owned electronics attempting to help. The rainstorm moving in across the BWCA Tuesday night will only make matters more challenging.

“This is a very dangerous location,” Slatten said. “And it’s about to get more dangerous.”

Slatten said the effort to locate the missing canoeists is a highly coordinated effort “with many moving parts in one of the most remote places in the state.”

In the past 48 hours there have been both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, UAV “drones,” ROV and sonar technology, ground and canoe-based search teams, and multiple support elements operating from rear areas of the active scene, Slatten reported.

The editorial team at Paddle and Portage communicate frequently with Slatten for information about how search and rescue work in and around the Boundary Waters. We’ve been in contact with Slatten since the morning hours of May 19 regarding the missing canoeists at Curtain Falls.

Slatten spoke with us again at 10 p.m. May 21. Audio to that conversation is shared below. In addition to support from the U.S. Forest Service and others, Slatten noted that Adventure Seaplanes, an air service based in Tower, Minn., was extremely helpful with the ongoing mission.

The two men who remain missing are Jesse Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, Minn., and Reis Grams, 40, of Lino Lakes, Minn.

Injured in the situation was Kyle Sellers, 47, of Ham Lake, Minn. Erik Grams, 43, also of Ham Lake, was not injured. Another member of the group, Jared Lohse, 33, of Cambridge, was at the group’s campsite when the situation unfolded.

Paddle and Portage spoke with Lohse Tuesday afternoon. Lohse had returned to work Tuesday and was busy installing irrigation pipes at a job site, he said. When asked if there was anything he would like paddlers heading into the BWCA to be aware of this weekend in terms of safety, Lohse said he hoped “people make smart decisions.”

Below is the interview with Slatten from Tuesday night.

Support this type of reporting from the Boundary Waters by subscribing to Paddle and Portage.