A South Dakota man who planned to hike the Superior Hiking Trail from the Canadian border to Duluth was reported missing last week by his family, launching a major Cook County Search & Rescue effort.
Ron Meyer of Aitkin, Minnesota contacted Cook County Law Enforcement at 7:14 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5, asking for help locating his son, Mike Meyer, 38, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ron Meyer said his son, who had some health issues, was an experienced hiker who was diligent about checking in with family along the way. He said his son was equipped with a GPS SPOT device and normally sent several messages each day. The last message received was sent at 1:46 p.m. on June 3—the day he set out from the Ottertail Lake Road, at a trailhead by the Swamp River.
Mike Meyer had taken the Superior Hiking Trail shuttle, so he couldn’t have left by car. He had to be in the woods somewhere, his father said.
The father provided the longitude and latitude of that last SPOT device check-in and Search & Rescue assembled. An incident command was set up at the Hovland Town Hall and groups of emergency responders from the Colvill and Hovland Fire Departments and the STOP traffic control team headed to trailheads on the Andy Lake Road and Jackson Lake Road. Conservation Officer Mary Manning checked a campsite east of the Arrowhead Trail.
Search & Rescue Chief Willie Olin of the Colvill Fire Department said the idea was to cover any of the possible exit routes off the trail that Meyer may have taken.
The search was halted after midnight so rescuers could get some rest. They were back at it by 5:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 6.
Searchers found some articles belonging to the missing hiker— including his SPOT locator—that gave a clue as to his direction of travel.
Mike Meyers was found at about 8:30 that morning by members of the STOP team on the south side of Jackson Lake Road, about ¾ mile in on the trail and about 7 miles from where he had lost his GPS locator. Meyers was exhausted but otherwise fine. He was very happy to see his rescuers and said he had taken on more than he should have.
Search & Rescue Chief Olin said he had to give a big “shout out” to the STOP team and all the other participants in the search. “It was a great collaborative effort,” said Olin. “I’m glad it turned out okay.”
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