An emergency call went out to Tofte First Responders and Cook County Ambulance at 2:36 p.m. on Friday, August 20, reporting that there was a man in the water at the mouth of the Temperance River in Tofte. It was not known if the man was a kayaker, a swimmer, or whether he had been swept into the river’s current, but the caller said the man was struggling and could not get out of the water.
Tofte EMS Director Louise Trachta said the man apparently tried to retrieve his girlfriend’s sandal when he was caught in a riptide that pulled him out into the lake. Trachta said the river was running really hard because of the approximately 2 inches of rain that had just been received.
Cook County Law Enforcement paged Tofte First Responders, Sheriff deputies, the US Coast Guard, conservation officers, and Cook County Ambulance. Emergency responders mobilized and Tofte First Responder/ Schroeder Fire Chief Phil Bonin was first on the scene at 2:41 p.m. Bonin was able to talk to the man, reassuring him and guiding him to shore. He made it safely to land as other Tofte First Responders were arriving. The First Responders examined the man and checked his oxygen level. The ambulance and the other responders—including Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Conservation Officer Tom Wahlstrom who was getting ready with the DNR emergency boat— were cancelled.
“People panic when they get in a riptide, because it keeps carrying you out,” said Trachta. “It’s hard, but a person needs to relax and float with the riptide until they can swim parallel to shore, across the current.”
Trachta’s advice is correct, according to the Worst-Case Scenario
Handbook
by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht. The handbook explains that most riptide deaths are not caused by the currents themselves, but because people become exhausted trying to swim against the riptide and cannot make it back to shore. The handbook said that most rip currents are less than 100 feet wide, so swimming beyond them— parallel to the shore—is oftenpossible. Riptides generally subside 50 to 100 yards from shore, so if a person cannot swim out of the current, the advice is to float on your back until it takes you away from the pull of the current—then swim away from the current (parallel to the beach) and then to shore.
Temperance River has been the scene of a number of drownings. The latest was Ari Benjamin Sommerfeld, a 45-year-old man from Ramsey, MN who had been witnessed swimming in the river before being carried away by the current. In 2008, two young women, 17 and 22, from Maple Grove, MN perished after being swept away by the current in a popular wading spot. In 2001, a 22-year-old hiker from Finland, MN died after falling in the river. In 2000, a 50-year-old Wisconsin man drowned while saving his eightyear old son. Another father, 48, from Remer, MN drowned while rescuing his 12-year-old daughter. In 1996, a 14-year-old boy from Crystal, MN drowned after diving at one of Temperance’s waterfalls.
Temperance State Park officials estimate that 160,000 – 200,000 people visit the state park each year and most of them adhere to the cautionary signs along the river. However, everyone is reminded to use caution when exploring Temperance and other North Shore rivers. According to the Handbook,
riptides occur more often in strong winds. Streaks of muddy water or sand are clues that a riptide is present.
“People need to stay away from rivers. We don’t want to have another death,” said EMS Director Trachta. “You can always replace a sandal.”
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