2 missing Minnesota canoeists found dead after going over waterfall
By Joe Sutton and Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — The bodies of two canoeists have been found after the men went over Curtain Falls in northern Minnesota and went missing more than two weeks ago, according to authorities.
On Monday morning, authorities recovered the body of Reis Melvin Grams, 40, of Lino Lakes, Minnesota, west of the Curtain Falls in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, according to a Facebook post from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
The body of the other missing canoeist, Jesse Haugen, 41, of Cambridge, Minnesota, was found Friday by crews near Curtain Falls, according to a news release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office obtained by CNN affiliate KBJR.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office was first dispatched to Iron Lake near the border of Canada at 7:21 p.m. on May 18, according to a news release. Two canoes had gone over Curtain Falls in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the sheriff’s office said. One canoeist was badly injured and two were missing.
Shortly after midnight, a helicopter was used to rescue one injured person and one uninjured person, according to the sheriff’s office. The injured person was flown to a hospital with “serious but not life-threatening injuries,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Friends, two families and a wide circle of friends are devastated tonight by the events at Curtain Falls,” the St. Louis County Rescue Squad said in a Facebook post Sunday evening.
Search efforts were hampered by “many challenges and setbacks,” including “sketchy and unreliable” cell phone and radio communication, according to the Facebook post.
Rescuers worked all evening “until it was too dark to see, and are sleeping on the ground tonight” to continue searching first thing in the morning, the post said.
The search effort included remotely-operated vehicles and drones, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Curtain Falls is extremely difficult to access, and we are depending heavily on our aviation partners to transport equipment, supplies, and personnel in and out of the backcountry,” added the rescue group.
Earlier this month, another canoeist was found dead in Lake Agnes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, according to a news release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
St. Louis is located on Minnesota’s border with Ontario, Canada.
CNN has reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment.
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CNN’s Sara Smart contributed to this report.
