Local fishing charter captains and crew rescue kayaker on Lake Superior

A day of fishing on Lake Superior turned into a life-saving rescue when several fishing charter captains and friends rescued a kayaker near Grand Marais.

The rescue occurred on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 2, near Rosebush Creek and Fall River, less than five miles west of the Grand Marais harbor.

At approximately 5:08 p.m., the Cook County Sheriff’s Office received a call of an individual recreating on Lake Superior who was in the water and in need of help. Moments later, local fishing charter captain Gary Radloff of Grand Marais Charters received a call from a friend alerting him to the situation and asking whether he was nearby and able to help.

As it turned out, Radloff was already on the water aboard fellow charter fishing captain Forrest Parson’s boat with A Superior Charters, joined by several other licensed charter captains and friends.

“We were on Forrest’s boat fishing,” said Stephanie Radloff, who was involved in the rescue. Upon receiving the call, Stephanie said, the group didn’t hesitate to respond. “Forrest drove the boat, and Gary gave directions, and then our buddies Josh and Dustin pulled her out of the lake.”

The woman kayaker had been paddling on Lake Superior west of the Grand Marais harbor with friends when her shoulder began to bother her, and she decided to return to the harbor, Stephanie said. At some point, her kayak overturned, and she was clinging to the kayak.

A Superior Charters boat in the Grand Marais harbor | Photo by Stephanie Radloff

The fishing charter captains and crew arrived on scene shortly thereafter. Stephanie said there were two individuals in a canoe who were paddling out to help assist her when they arrived, but told the canoeists that they would rescue her. “We didn’t want them to capsize trying to get her in the canoe.”

After pulling the woman into the boat, the crew retrieved her kayak and paddle and brought her back to the Grand Marais marina. Stephanie said the woman was not wearing a lifejacket when they arrived on scene.

“She was super scared, thought she wasn’t going to make it,” Stephanie said. “She was lucky though.”

Stephanie said the woman told her she had been having some issues with her shoulder and thought it was slightly dislocated.

The woman told Stephanie she couldn’t recall how long she had been in the water, but the fishing charter captains estimated it at about 10 to 15 minutes. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office received word that the woman had been rescued and was on a charter fishing vessel at 5:26 p.m.

With being in the water for nearly 15 minutes, there were concerns of hypothermia. Lake Superior surface water temperatures in recent weeks have hovered in the mid-40s to low-50s range.

Stephanie said, “I sat with her the whole ride in and just said, ‘You are one of the lucky ones.'”

She said it was “good timing” that they had been nearby and were able to assist with the rescue.

Once arriving at the Grand Marais marina, the sheriff’s office said the woman declined ambulance transport and later went to North Shore Health on her own.

Kalli Hawkins August 7, 2026