SILVER BAY — Four girls were rescued after midnight Saturday, April 16, after being stranded on Lake Superior near Silver Bay.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the girls — ages 14, 13, 10 and 8 — were paddleboarding to the smaller of two islands near Black Beach around 8 p.m. The girls lost their paddles while on the island.
The Silver Bay Police Department responded to the beach area after a parent of the girls reported they were stranded. Lake County sheriff's deputies responded to the Silver Bay Marina with the sheriff’s office boat.
Due to wave size, the Silver Bay Marina Manager Mike Ettel took deputies out on his former U.S. Coast Guard watercraft, which is designed for larger waves. After arriving at the smaller island, they were able to make visual contact with the juveniles and communicate with them to stay put.
Deputies requested assistance of the Minnesota Air Rescue Team from St. Paul, but they could not respond due to weather, according to a news release. The U.S. Coast Guard agreed to send a helicopter from Traverse City, Michigan. Lake County Rescue set up a rope relay with the girls 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 Coast Guard helicopter arrived at approximately 1a.m. and successfully transported the girls from the small island to a landing zone set up by the Silver Bay Fire Department in the business park. They were returned safely to their parents.
Also assisting at the scene were the Silver Bay Fire Department and Minnesota State Patrol.
