ELY- When Richard White didn’t come home from his day hike last Wednesday evening, his relatives here started to worry. The next morning, June 27, White’s daughter notified the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and the search was on for the 77-year-old birder and wildflower enthusiast. White, an experienced hiker and naturalist, was in the area visiting family.
Family and friends soon got the word out on social media, “Richard White has been missing for about 24 hours. He likely went hiking in the area but that is not known. Please check parking lots for his black Subaru Impreza with Georgia plates.”
A friend soon found White’s car at the parking area for the Secret/Blackstone trail system near the end of the Fernberg Road. A Lake County Sheriff’s deputy, a DNR conservation officer, Lake County Search and Rescue, and a handful of volunteers familiar with the local trails combed the area. The Morse-Fall Lake Fire Department also responded to the trailhead with EMS and rescue equipment to help with the search.
“His family realized he had been out since the previous morning,” conservation officer Sean Williams told the Timberjay. “He was out for a single night, but it was cold.”
The low temperature overnight at the Ely Municipal Airport was 46 degrees.
“White was out looking for wildflowers and birds,” Williams added. “He got off the trail. It was overcast so it was easy to become disoriented.”
The U.S. Forest Service sent one of its De Havilland Beaver planes to help with the search. The plane, on its way back from a mission to Grand Marais, picked up an extra pair of eyes from the Morse-Fall Lake Fire Department according to Williams.
“The Forest Service aircraft performed a miracle,” Williams added. “Jeremy (Harmon) and the spotter spotted White at the last minute.”
The plane was on its last search pass because it was low on fuel. “The Beaver advised rescuers that they observed a male waving his arms, at which time they were able to land and due to the high-water (and) taxi to where the male party was located,” stated a Lake County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Lacking the fuel to take off with three people and get back to base, the Beaver taxied on the water to a trail where the Morse-Fall Lake rescue squad met the plane. Morse-Fall Lake took White on its ATV equipped with a stretcher trailer back to the trailhead. White was then transported by an Ely Area Ambulance which took him to Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital for evaluation.
“White was bug-bitten and dehydrated,” William said, “but alert and happy that we found him.”
Friend of the family Jennifer Freking told the Timberjay that White was home from the hospital on Sunday “and doing much better.”
In its news release, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office thanked the Morse-Fall Lake Fire Department, St. Louis County Search and Rescue Squad, U.S. Forest Service, Minnesota DNR, and Lake County Search and Rescue.The Northern Tier Boy Scouts provided meals to the search and rescue effort.