Canoeists rescued from overturned canoe on Gunflint Lake

A page went out to Gunflint Trail emergency responders at 10:05 a.m. on Saturday, May 24 calling for help for people who had tipped over in a canoe in the frigid waters of Gunflint Lake near Mile O’ Pine.

Members of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department and Gunflint Ambulance hurried to the scene. Gunflint Trail firefighter Bob Baker, from nearby Gunflint Pines, grabbed a lifejacket and hopped in his boat, heading directly out on the water to the overturned canoe which was about 300 – 400 yards from shore.

Baker said by the time he got there, other cabin owners had reached the two people and were bringing them ashore to Heston’s Lodge. Rescuers told Cook County Law Enforcement dispatch that the people were out of the water by 10:19 a.m.

The canoeists, a woman and man in their 20s, were shivering intensely. Responders helped the woman into the lodge where she was able to shower and get into dry clothing. The male party was in greater distress and was put in the Gunflint ambulance. He was surrounded with warm packs and wrapped in warm blankets. After being observed for about an hour, he was released.

Baker said the couple was very fortunate that cabin owners had spotted them. “The ice has only been off the lake a couple of days, so the water is extremely cold,” he said.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a boating accident is five times more likely to be fatal if the water is colder than 60 degrees.

Tim Smalley, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources boating safety specialist, says cold water can kill in ways you might not expect. Victims who fall overboard can suffer cold water shock, which involuntarily causes them to take a big breath. If their head is underwater, they can drown immediately.

For people lucky enough to keep their head above water, unless they’re wearing a life jacket, drowning will occur long before hypothermia gets them, said Smalley.

Baker said he tells his resort visitors to exercise extreme caution in early spring. “I tell them they need to stay within a few yards from the shore.”