An Iowa man, camping with a group of friends in a remote area at the end of the Arrowhead Trail in Hovland, collapsed and died on Wednesday, June 20.
Brent Allen Croker, 50, of Storm Lake, Iowa, was traveling with five other males into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The party was on the canoe portage between John Lake and East Pike when he collapsed. His companions tried to revive him and began CPR, with three of them staying with Croker. Two other men, including Croker’s son, made their way out to the Arrowhead Trail.
They found a McFarland Lake cabin owner who had a cell phone antennae that provided a connection to Canadian cell phone towers and the emergency call was made at 2:01 p.m. The emergency call was further complicated by the communication outage caused by the flooding in Lake County. Canadian authorities contacted the Minnesota State Patrol, which in turn contacted Cook County Law Enforcement. When the call was made, Croker’s companions estimated that he had been unconscious for 45 minutes.
Hovland First Responders and DNR Conservation Officers and fire personnel in the area responded and assisted with bringing Croker out to the Arrowhead Trail to the Cook County Ambulance.
Cook County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Leif Lunde said the cause of death was a medical issue. Foul play is not suspected.
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