Missing man on Isle Royale found
Craig Berg, 70, of downstate Royal Oak, is hoisted aboard a U.S. Coast Guard H-60 Jayhawk helicopter out of Air Station Traverse City Saturday afternoon, after being missing on Isle Royale National Park since Sept. 6. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard)
Craig Berg
Craig Berg, 70, of downstate Royal Oak, is hoisted aboard a U.S. Coast Guard H-60 Jayhawk helicopter out of Air Station Traverse City Saturday afternoon, after being missing on Isle Royale National Park since Sept. 6. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard)
Craig Berg
Trending
ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK -- Little additional information has been released about the location and rescue of a downstate hiker, missing on Isle Royale National Park since the first week of September.
Craig Berg, 70, of Royal Oak, reported missing Sept. 6, was located Saturday afternoon by Michigan State Police troopers and K-9 units, reportedly injured and hypothermic on the island, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Family and National Park Service officials said he was scheduled to depart on the Ranger III on Saturday, Sept. 5, after a solo hiking trip of several days duration. A report was made by the family the following day after he did not return home as planned.
"We're thankful that missing hiker, Craig Berg, was found alive and alert on Isle Royale," said Lt. Ben Eckola, Michigan State Police Eighth District public information officer. "The collaboration and hard work of everyone involved in the search helped locate Craig safely. We appreciate the Michigan State Police personnel who helped, as well as our partners at the U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Keweenaw County Sheriff's Office, Wisconsin State Patrol, and Minnesota Department of Public Safety. We're also thankful to the fellow hikers who helped, Isle Royale Seaplanes and No One Left Behind K9 Search and Rescue. Everyone's efforts played an important part in finding Craig."
Added Senior Chief Petty Officer Wendy Janson, command duty officer of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Sector Northern Great Lakes command center: "This rescue is a testament to teamwork and what can be accomplished when first responders and members of the community come together. We are extremely grateful we were able to get Mr. Berg safely off the island and deliver him to the medical care he needed."
Indeed it was a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City that hoisted and transported him to Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport. Emergency medical services personnel staged at the airport transported Berg to UPHS-Marquette for further care.
On Friday, a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Portage and the helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City transported the troopers and K-9 units to Isle Royale to aid in search efforts.
Additionally, the Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office on Friday confirmed it joined in the search for the downstate Royal Oak man who was reported missing after a solo hiking trip to Isle Royale National Park, Sheriff Curt Pennala told the Daily Mining Gazette.