Governor calls on MN National Guard to support search and rescue for canoeists still missing in the BWCA

After nearly of week of search and rescue efforts to locate two canoeists missing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), on May 24 Governor Tim Walz  authorized the Minnesota National Guard to provide assistance in the search. The authorization was at the request of the St. Louis County Sheriff, according to a press release from Governor Walz’s office.

The two canoeists were part of a group of four who went over Curtain Falls on May 18. Erik Michael Grams, 43, of Ham Lake, Minn., and Kyle Thomas Sellers, 47, were both rescued that day. Jesse Melvin Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, Minn., and Reis Melvin Grams, 40 of Lino Lakes, Minn., remain missing.

Emergency Executive Order 24-04 authorizes the Minnesota National Guard to transport equipment to help with the search. Thus far, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, North Air Care, Virginia Fire Department, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Minnesota Air Rescue Team, and the St. Louis County Rescue Squad have all been involved in the search and rescue efforts.

Assistance from the Minnesota National Guard will include a CH-47 (Chinook) helicopter and four crew members. The requested help includes the transportation of a boat and additional equipment from Ely to the Curtain Falls Area.

The press release included a statement from Governor Walz. It read, “No one expects their vacation to turn to crisis. Yet, when four canoeists went over Curtain Falls in the BWCA, this became a reality. My family is intimately familiar with the fear and heartbreak these canoeists are feeling. We are praying for those involved and immensely grateful to everyone from the Sheriff’s office to the National Guard who are supporting this mission.”

Kirsten Wisniewski May 24, 2024