A caller concerned about overdue campers contacted Cook County Law Enforcement just before 6 p.m. on Monday, June 20. The caller was supposed to meet a father and son at the conclusion of their Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) at the McFarland Lake swimming beach/picnic area.
Cook County Search and Rescue was dispatched and was at McFarland Lake at 8:23 p.m. They learned that the missing parties were Trygve Winstead, 62, and Caleb Winstead, 30, both of Spooner, Wisconsin who were camping on Pine Lake.
Authorization was requested from the U.S. Forest Service for permission to bring a small motorized boat from McFarland onto Pine Lake in the BWCAW. Authorization was granted to enter the BWCAW through the McFarland/Pine Lake portage.
At 8:55 p.m. a U.S. Border Patrol unit notified Cook County dispatch that they had found the parties.
The men had been camping about 2/3 of the way down the north side of Pine Lake. According to Caleb Winstead, while paddling out to McFarland, their canoe got swamped. He told rescuers they were not planning on spending the night and when they were found they were preparing to get back on the water.
Neither man was injured. All rescuers were clear of the scene by 10:23 p.m.
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