Boy rescued from BWCA, hospitalized after falling tree hits tent

Cory Knudsen & Krystal Frasier KSTP

(KSTP) – UPDATE 6/19/24: Cook County authorities say rescue crews were able to get to a 9-year-old boy late Tuesday night after a tree fell over onto a tent in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

According to Sheriff Pat Eliasen, the boy was brought out of the BWCA around 11 p.m. by members of Cook County Search and Rescue and the Gunflint Volunteer Fire Department. He was then brought to North Shore Health in Grand Marais.

No word on the boy’s condition, or the extent of his injuries.

INITIAL REPORT 6/18/24: Authorities are actively working to rescue a boy hit by a falling tree blown over by storms in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

According to a post by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, a 9-year-old was in a tent that was hit by a tree that fell down in the storm.

Search and rescue crews are on their way to medevac him out but have not reached the campsite yet as of this publishing.

Officials say the medevac will likely be by watercraft.

More updates are expected in the coming hours.