Additional rainfall and windy conditions to start Memorial Day weekend continue to impact 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, May 18. A total of five men from the north suburbs of the Twin Cities were on a canoe trip last weekend when this situation unfolded. Three people, including one who was injured, were evacuated early Sunday morning from the site. The other two canoeists remain missing.

Friday afternoon called for 30 mph wind gusts, rain, and possibly a thunderstorm near Curtain Falls and the search area, according to the National Weather Service. 

Members of the St. Louis County Rescue Squad worked relentlessly throughout the week to find the missing canoeists, 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.

We spoke with Slatten mid-week about the ongoing effort to find the missing canoeists.

The Minnesota National Guard flew in advanced watercraft for the rescue squad on Thursday. View footage from the National Guard in the video below.

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 continued, though it reopened at midnight Wednesday, May 22.

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 72 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.

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.

Below is the interview with Slatten from Tuesday night. It includes cautionary notes for paddlers headed into the BWCA during Memorial Day weekend.

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