Missing hikers found

Submitted by wtip on Fri, 10/10/2008 - 7:19am

The search for two Duluth hikers lost in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness came to a successful conclusion about 3:15 Thursday afternoon when they were found on the north shore of Glee Lake in Cook County.

Marie Jacenko, age 42, and Grace Knezevich, age 23, were located by a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

Float planes from the Superior National Forest and a helicopter from the United States Border Patrol also assisted in the search. Personnel from the Cook and Lake County Sheriffs’ Departments and federal rangers were involved in the ground search.

The pair set out to hike the Kekakabic Trail at Snowbank Lake near Ely on Friday, Oct. 3 and planned to be picked up on the Gunflint Trail on Monday, Oct. 6. However, they did not make it to the Gunflint and were reported missing Tuesday morning. The Kekakabic Trail has 31 miles in Lake County and nine in Cook County. It is known as one of the most rugged trails in the Arrowhead and its difficulty was increased by the 1999 blow-down and the Ham Lake Fire.