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3w ago

70-Year-Old Hiker Rescued From Isle Royale After Week Missing

Officials say a Coast Guard hoist and coordinated response by state troopers and volunteer hikers underscores the difficulty of conducting rescues on the remote Lake Superior island as investigators probe how he became lost.

Image
Craig Berg.
Search efforts on Isle Royale to find missing hiker. (MSP)
Search efforts on Isle Royale to find missing hiker. (MSP)

Overview

  • Searchers found Craig Berg, 70, alive but injured and hypothermic on Saturday, Sept. 12, and the U.S. Coast Guard hoisted him by MH-60 Jayhawk to Marquette Regional Airport for hospital care.
  • Fellow backpackers and kayakers first spotted Berg and helped guide Michigan State Police troopers and a K-9 team to his location on the island.
  • The rescue used multiple assets, including a Coast Guard helicopter and boat, Michigan State Police troopers and K-9s, National Park Service staff, seaplane operators, local sheriff and state patrol agencies.
  • Berg’s family says he lost his cellphone and wallet in a marsh and had not returned after a solo trip expected to end Sept. 5, but officials have not yet released full details about how he became lost or his medical prognosis.
  • Isle Royale’s roadless terrain, limited on-island staffing, seasonal ferry schedule and spotty cell service complicate searches and helped shape the weeklong, multi-agency effort to find and evacuate him.