BORDERWATERS CANOEING AREA WILDERNESS, Minn. — The Minnesota National Guard is joining the search effort two missing canoeists in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness.
Governor Tim Walz announced Thursday that four Guard crew members and a helicopter will go to northern Minnesota to help transport equipment for the search.
According to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, two canoes went over Curtain Falls on Saturday, right at the Canadian border. Two canoeists were rescued – one of them seriously injured but expected to survive – but two more have not been found.
“No one expects their vacation to turn into a crisis. But when four canoeists crossed Curtain Falls in the BWCA, this became a reality,” Walz said. “My family is intimately familiar with the fear and grief these canoeists are feeling. We are praying for those involved and are deeply grateful to everyone from the sheriff’s office to the National Guard who are supporting this mission.”
Officials have identified the two missing canoeists as 40-year-old Reis Grams of Lino Lakes and 41-year-old Jesse Haugen of Cambridge.
Earlier this week, parts of the BWCA – including Iron Lake and part of Crooked Lake – were closed as officials searched for the missing canoeists.
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office has requested assistance from the Minnesota National Guard, Walz said.
Angie Grams, Reis Grams’ wife, says that no news is good news for the time being.
“Unfortunately, or fortunately, we have nothing,” she said. “So we look at that as somewhat of a positive because we continue to feel that if we don’t find anything in the water, they must be on land.”
Angie Grams
As the search lengthens by the minute, Angie Grams credits her friends, family and faith for staying strong for their two boys.
“There are people literally all over the continent praying for the fate of my family and Reis and Jesse. And we… that’s what’s getting me through right now,” Angie Grams said.
It’s a situation that affects Walz, whose younger brother died during a storm in the Boundary Waters in 2016.
“Governor Walz, I have to thank him for his approval. It’s incredible the resources that are in place today,” Angie Grams said.
