A Grand Marais man fell and struck his head while hunting on Saturday, October 15, inadvertently setting off a major police and emergency medical response. Tim MacDonell of Grand Marais was discovered by a passing motorist on the roadside approximately three miles north of Hedstrom Lumber on the Gunflint Trail. To make the call for help, the motorist had to travel down the Gunflint Trail to receive cell phone service. When the call was made at 2:48 p.m., the reporting party said MacDonell was lying in the ditch, with a gun.
Cook County Sheriff Deputy Julie Collman responded, using precautions followed in an incident involving a weapon. However, when Deputy Collman and the Cook County Ambulance arrived, they discovered that MacDonell had not been shot—the initial concern— but had suffered a head injury in a fall.
MacDonell was transported to Cook County North Shore Hospital and then to a Duluth hospital. It appears his injury was serious, but not life threatening.
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