61-year-old man drowns after wave sweeps him into Lake Superior near Lutsen
Updated 8:42 a.m.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has provided additional information following the recovery of a body from Lake Superior near Lutsen on the afternoon of Aug. 12.
The victim has been identified as a 61-year-old male.
At 3:29 p.m. on Aug. 12, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a person floating in the water a short distance from shore near Solbakken Resort in Lutsen, Minn.
Deputies arrived on scene to observe an unresponsive body in the water, which was drifting in the current approximately 100 ft from shore. The Cook County Search and Rescue (CCSAR) was paged and responded by launching a boat in Tofte. However, first responders were unable to navigate the rough Lake Superior conditions and returned to shore, according to the sheriff’s office.
Shortly thereafter, the United States Border Patrol launched a boat from the Grand Marais harbor and proceeded to the location of the incident. The body of the 61-year-old male was found, recovered, and transported by boat back to the Grand Marais harbor at approximately 5:33 p.m.
The sheriff’s office said that through an investigation into the drowning, law enforcement learned that the victim and a female were sitting on the shore of Lake Superior near Solbakken Resort when the female decided to go back to the cabin. The 61-year-old remained on the Lake Superior shore.
When the female looked back toward the shore, she witnessed a large wave knock the male over, and he was pulled into Lake Superior, unable to get back to shore. The female then called 911 and told authorities the male was floating in the water and was not moving.
The name of the victim and the cause of death are being withheld pending results of an autopsy, the sheriff’s office said. Once the body arrived in the Grand Marais harbor, the CCSAR team requested to transfer the body to the Midwest Medical Examiner’s office for the autopsy.
The case is currently under investigation.
Kalli Hawkins August 13, 2025
