Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. — U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force and local crews ended their search for a man missing in Lake Superior near Tofte, Minnesota, after he was found unresponsive late Tuesday evening.
The man's name is not being released and there is no Coast Guard video or imagery available for this case.
At approximately 10:00 p.m., CST, the Coast Guard recovered the man about a half mile away from where he entered the water and approximately 400 yards off shore.The Coast Guard Station Duluth, Minnesota, crew launched aboard a 25-foot response boat and conducted searches with overhead assistance from a Royal Canadian Air Force C-130 aircraft, which launched flares to help illuminate the search area.The boat crew located the man, who was unresponsive, conducted CPR and transported him to awaiting EMS personnel, who pronounced him deceased. The man was then transported to the Cook County North Shore Hospital in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
The man initially entered the water to assist a swimmer in distress, who had reportedly gone from a hot tub into the lake to cool off.
The man who he was attempting to assist made it back to shore and was transported to a local hospital, Tuesday night, and was later pronounced deceased.
"The Coast Guard offers our condolences to the families and friends who lost a loved one," said Cmdr. Marko Broz, the deputy sector commander for Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie.
Station Duluth personnel and local responders conducted 5 miles of shore-side searches from Tofte to Schroeder, Minnesota before finding the missing man offshore."The Coast Guard would also like to thank all of the local and Canadian responders who assisted with this search effort," said Broz.
Reported search conditions were poor. On-scene weather included heavy fog and precipitation, with waves 4-6 feet. The water temperature was approximately 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Coast Guard issued a previous release, Tuesday night.