Emotions were high this week for many in the Upper Peninsula as the details of a missing persons case unraveled.

LeeAnn Marie Wilmoth and Eric Scott Ruska, who had been missing since Sunday, were found alive early Friday at a gas station in Munising.

Our immediate thoughts are with the families.

We also would like to commend the Michigan State Police troopers and members of its Special Investigation Section, as well as all the other police agencies, emergency responders and entities involved in finding both Wilmoth and Ruska.

While we cannot call the circumstances “good,” it is a miracle there was no loss of life — and we owe this to the law enforcement officials who worked tirelessly and with what appears to be expert intuition.

Detective 1st Lt. Robert Pernaski described in an interview Friday morning how law enforcement officials were able to concentrate their efforts to the central U.P., working off tips and the knowledge that money was being spent at “convenience-type stores in early morning hours.”

Pernaski said plain-clothes officers were stationed at several of these stores in the central U.P. and “(Ruska) went to the wrong one.”

Pernaski said there was “a little bit of luck involved.”

Perhaps so, but we think it was much more than luck.

Police agencies worked diligently, we imagine around the clock, throughout a wide expanse of the Upper Peninsula to locate the pair. Under any condition, this seems a daunting task.

The wilds of the U.P. — especially in July when forests are flush — can pose an obstacle to even the most experienced individuals. Add to this a week full of rain and general dreariness in many parts of the U.P., late hours and the stress of a possible life and death situation, and maybe this begins to scratch the surface of what law enforcement possibly endured this week.

There was another crucial aspect at play in this incident as well — the vigilence of the community.

By Tuesday afternoon, circumstances surrounding the unknown whereabouts of both the alleged suspect and victim began to surface on media outlets across the U.P. and northern lower Michigan. Pictures of Wilmoth and Ruska circulated, as well as their last known location and a description of the vehicle they were possibly traveling in. This turned up a number of tips helpful to the investigation.

It isn’t necessary to remind Yoopers of the greatness of our community — we already know. We watch out for each other, and this is just another example.

A press release Friday from the Michigan State Police thanked the public for its effort, as well as the numerous businesses providing tip information and assistance.

For many who reside in this part of the country, we’d like to think its remoteness somehow insulates it from crime. Unfortunately, we know this is untrue. We’re not safe from crime.

But what we do have is a strong community that cares, and one that stretches from one end of this peninsula to the other.

It’s something to be grateful for, as luck would have it.