Gunflint Trail Fire Chief Jim Morrison sheds light on October rescue on Poplar Lake

In mid-October, first responders rescued a woman and her dog from a partially submerged vehicle at the Poplar Lake landing, about 32 miles up the Gunflint Trail.

“It’s a unique event,” Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Jim Morrison said. “We’ve never had to rescue somebody from a submerged vehicle.”

Morrison was first on the scene on the morning of Oct. 13 and swam out approximately 100 ft to rescue the woman from the vehicle. He was able to extract the woman and bring her to shore, where she was placed in an ambulance from the Gunflint Trail Fire Department to receive medical care. Morrison said she was conscious, able to communicate with first responders during the rescue, and able to walk to the ambulance.

The woman told bystanders and first responders she had been partially submerged in the vehicle overnight for 12 hours. Morrison said she also told the first responders and bystanders that she had just driven into the lake, presumably by accident.

It is possible that somebody could have driven off the ramp, thinking they were still on the road, Morrison said. “It does happen, very rarely, but it does happen.”

Poplar Lake landing | Photo by Kalli Hawkins

“I was just involved in getting her out and going from there,” Morrison said. “Really didn’t matter to me how she got there.”

The water temperature at Poplar Lake on that day was approximately 54 degrees. After rescuing the woman, which took less than an hour, Morrison said he was “pretty hypothermic” and sat in his truck with the heat blasting while the other first responders provided medical care to the woman. Shortly after, GTVFD and EMT Ruth Wagner swam out to rescue the dog.

GTVFD Ruth Wagner rescuing the dog on Poplar Lake | Photo by Sharyl Zeno

The woman was then transported in the ambulance down the Gunflint Trail, where she was transferred to the North Shore Health ambulance at the South Brule parking lot. She was then brought to the hospital and later transported to Duluth via life flight for further medical care.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office told WTIP that, since the woman was taken to Duluth for medical care, she was not interviewed. The sheriff’s office said that since there was no criminal action, they have closed the matter.

Following the rescue, WTIP spoke with medical professionals at North Shore Health about the expected hypothermic condition of an individual who had reportedly spent 8 to 12 hours in 54-degree water.

Medical Director Dr. Ameen Taleb wrote in an email, “In general terms, if someone is partially submerged in 54°F water for an extended period, especially in the range of 8 to 12 hours, significant hypothermia would almost certainly occur.”

Taleb added, “At that temperature, the body loses heat much faster than it can produce it, and core temperature can drop below normal within an hour or less, depending on factors such as body size, clothing, movement, and how much of the body is immersed.”

After several hours in 54-degree temperatures, an individual’s core body temperature would fall well below 90 degrees F, a level consistent with moderate to severe hypothermia. “In that state, metabolism slows markedly, and the person may appear unresponsive or have very faint vital signs,” Taleb wrote.  

Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rules, North Shore Health was unable to confirm the woman’s body temperature after she was rescued or provide other information about her condition.

WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with GTVFD Fire Chief Jim Morrison about the Oct. 13 rescue at Poplar Lake landing. The audio is below.

Kalli Hawkins November 3, 2025