Governor Tim Walz is authorizing the Minnesota National Guard to help in the search for 2 Minnesotans who went over the falls in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area several days ago.
Four canoeists went over Curtain Falls inside the BWCA on May 18, prompting a massive search effort. Two members of the group were rescued but two other Minnesota residents remain missing.
St Louis County Commander Nate Skelton says the search so far has involved remote-controlled submarines, a drone and personnel on the ground.
"Not just the forest service, but the DNR, the state patrol, you know, you name it and all the resources up there," Skelton explains.
Now, the Minnesota National Guard will provide a helicopter and four crew members for the mission in the BWCA.
The two men have been identified as 41-year-old Jesse Hagen and 40-year-old Reese Grams.
The crew has been requested to provide lift assets to transport a boat and additional equipment from the Ely airport to the area where two Minnesotans went missing.
Curtain Falls is in a very remote area of the BWCA north of Ely, Minnesota, between Crooked Lake and Iron Lake on the Canadian border.
“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,” the St. Louis County Rescue Squad stated on May 20 in a Facebook post.