Park Ranger Dies After Boat Capsizes During Rescue

A park ranger in Minnesota died this past weekend after his boat capsized while attempting to rescue others.
On Sunday, the U.S. National Park Service issued a press release announcing that they were “mourning the loss of a law enforcement park ranger who died Sunday, October 6 in St. Louis County while responding to a call for help.”
In the press release, the National Park Service reported that a ranger responded to an emergency call on Sunday from Namakan Lake, located in Voyageurs National Park near the Canadian border. According to officials, the boat had become disabled amid high winds and rough waters.
MPR News in Minnesota reported that St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay stated that the waves in the area had reached six feet, resulting in the distressed boat becoming stuck. MPR News reported that the park ranger brought a man, his adult son and a younger son on his boat.
“While towing the distressed vessel, the NPS boat capsized, forcing the ranger and the three individuals being assisted into the water,” the National Park Service said in the press release.
However, Ramsay said that “the front kind of nosedived, the boat listed, and flipped over upside-down,” noting that the ranger’s boat was not towing the family’s boat.
After all four individuals fell into the water when the boat capsized, three were able to swim to a safe location, but the park ranger remained “unaccounted for.”
“After a three-hour search, the ranger’s body was recovered from Namakan Lake at approximately 3:20 p.m.,” the press release said. “The incident is under investigation. High winds and rough waters were reported at the time.”
According to the National Park Service, other law enforcement agencies actively assisted in the search and rescue operations, including the U.S. Border Patrol, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and the Kabetogama Fire Department.
“The ranger’s name is being withheld until all notifications are made. No further information is available at this time,” the National Park Service said.
“The ranger in this case was known in this community,” Ramsay said, MPR News reported. “He volunteered with fire and EMS, and really had a servant’s heart, and he died doing what he liked to do, and that was helping people.”
Ramsay also noted that the park ranger who died in the incident had worked in the area “for many years.”
“He knows the lake very well,” Ramsay said, MPR News reported.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.