Coast Guard chopper rescues North Shore paddleboarders

A paddleboarding excursion on Minnesota’s North Shore turned into a major rescue operation over the weekend — one that ended with everyone safely back ashore.

The call for help arrived just after 8 p.m. Saturday. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said a parent reported their four daughters — ages 8, 10, 13 and 14 — had been paddleboarding at Black Beach, along the Lake Superior shore near Silver Bay.

The girls had paddled out to the smaller of two rocky islands a short distance apart and a short distance offshore — and lost their paddles while on the island.

First responders tried reaching the island by boat — a former U.S. Coast Guard boat at the Silver Bay Marina, designed for large waves — but conditions on Lake Superior prevented them from rescuing the girls.

“They were able to make visual contact with the juveniles and communicate with them to stay put,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Authorities did access the adjacent, larger island.

“Lake County Rescue was able to set up a rope relay with the juveniles from the larger island to the smaller island. This allowed Rescue members to transfer blankets and food to the juveniles, as they were only wearing swimsuits and concerns were growing of them getting cold,” the sheriff’s office reported.

The Minnesota Air Rescue Team was unable to respond from St. Paul due to weather. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter then responded from Traverse City, Mich., and reached the scene at about 1 a.m. Sunday.

The crew of the MH-60 Jayhawk was able to bring the girls safely to shore, to a landing zone set up by the Silver Bay Fire Department at the nearby business park. The four girls were reunited with their parents.

“This successful rescue highlights the critical importance of interagency coordination and the rapid response capabilities of the U.S. Coast Guard,” Lt. j.g. Patrick Grissler, the aircraft commander, said in a news release. “We are grateful for the collaboration with Lake County and are pleased to have safely assisted these individuals.”