Coast Guard airlifted injured hiker 140 miles from Isle Royale
Berg had been missing since September 5, the day he had planned to take a ferry back to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula after a nine-day solo backpacking hike on the Lake Superior island, according to a statement posted to the Isle Royale National Park’s Facebook page.
His family reported him missing after he failed to return home, and search and rescue operations began on September 6, according to Local 4, a Detroit television station.
The initial search focused on Rock Harbor, where Berg had planned to end his hike. Crews later expanded the effort across the island, including the Greenstone Ridge trail, where a trail camera had captured Berg on August 30, Local 4 reported.
Backpackers, Michigan State Police troopers and local officials helped locate Berg, the park service said. The park reported that he was injured and hypothermic but alive and alert.
“He was in rough shape, but he’s okay,” Berg’s son, Evan, told TV6. “He’s able to speak. He asked for food and water. We’re just so grateful, and we couldn’t be more happy and relieved, and we appreciate all the support we’ve had on social media, and we are just so grateful.”
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City hoisted Berg from the island and transported him approximately 140 miles to Marquette regional airport in Gwinn, Michigan.
Isle Royale is a remote national park in the middle of Lake Superior with no roads and no wheeled vehicles permitted. Ground search teams must navigate approximately 200 square miles of dense boreal forest and rocky ridges strictly on foot.
The National Park Service thanked the employees and partner agencies that participated in the search, which it described as a successful conclusion to an intensive, week-long multi-agency operation.