TL;DR: Two paddlers found 70-year-old solo hiker Craig Berg alive at Intermediate Lake on Sept. 12 after more than a week lost on Isle Royale, leading to a Coast Guard helicopter hoist to Marquette for hospital care.

Found alive more than a mile from trails

Craig Berg, 70, of Royal Oak, Michigan, was located on Saturday, Sept. 12, on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, according to MPR News.

The National Park Service said two paddlers found Berg at Intermediate Lake, more than a mile from established hiking trails on the island, according to MPR News.

The Park Service described Berg as lost in the wilderness for more than a week when the paddlers encountered him.

Backpackers in the area also were credited with helping locate Berg, according to ABC News.

Michigan State Police troopers and K-9 units reached Berg after backpackers spotted him, according to ABC News.

Park officials said the kayakers relayed Berg's location to park officials, who coordinated the evacuation, according to MPR News.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Berg was found in good condition.

The National Park Service announced the find in a Facebook post that described Berg as alive and alert, according to ABC News.

How Berg described getting lost

Berg told family members after the rescue that he had become lost and then fallen into a marsh, according to MPR News.

His son, Evan Berg, said Berg lost his cell phone and his wallet in the marsh, according to MPR News.

Evan Berg told Detroit television station WDIV that his father had been slowly trying to make his way to find somebody, according to MPR News.

Evan Berg said kayakers ended up finding him, according to MPR News.

Evan Berg spoke to WDIV on Saturday while driving north to Marquette, according to MPR News.

Evan Berg said his father was well enough to speak with family members and share some details of what happened, according to MPR News.

After Berg was found, his son said Berg told family members he had gotten lost several days before he was reported missing, according to MPR News.

His son said Berg had been looking for help for 11 days, according to MPR News.

Ferry miss that launched the search

Berg had been on a more-than-weeklong solo hike on Isle Royale, according to MPR News.

He was scheduled to take the Ranger III ferry back to Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Sept. 5, according to MPR News.

Family members reported on Sept. 6 that he did not arrive home, according to MPR News.

That missed return prompted park officials to launch a large-scale search, according to MPR News.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Berg had been missing in Isle Royale National Park since Sept. 5, according to ABC News.

Isle Royale National Park posted that land and air searches for Berg had been happening since Sept. 6, according to reporting credited to FOX 11 News.

Officials said further details would take time to investigate and share, according to reporting credited to FOX 11 News.

How search teams narrowed a 44-mile island

The search for Berg included teams on the ground, including search dogs, as well as boats, drones and aircraft, according to MPR News.

The effort included aircraft from the Minnesota State Patrol, according to MPR News.

A Coast Guard boat and helicopter crew transported Michigan State Police troopers and K-9 units to Isle Royale on Friday to assist, according to ABC News.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said conservation officers transported emergency personnel on vessels more than 50 miles across Lake Superior to the incident on Thursday morning, Sept. 10, according to reporting from WLUC.

First responders narrowed an area based on Berg's last confirmed location, according to WLUC.

That narrowed search involved a 30-mile boat ride and an almost five-mile hike to that location, according to WLUC.

From there, first responders continued a foot search and brought in air units until Berg was located Saturday morning, according to WLUC.

DNR Law Enforcement Sgt. Marc Pomroy, who participated in the search, said responders had to narrow where they were searching on a 44-mile island with extreme habitat, according to WLUC.

Pomroy credited teamwork among agencies for making the airlift back to Marquette possible, according to WLUC.

Hoist by Jayhawk and flight to Marquette

An MH-60 Jayhawk crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City hoisted Berg to the helicopter and transported him to the Marquette airport, according to MPR News.

The Coast Guard said the helicopter transported Berg to Marquette Regional Airport in Gwinn, Michigan, where emergency medical services personnel took him to a local hospital, according to ABC News.

U.S. Coast Guard video showed Berg being lifted to the helicopter after being found Saturday, according to MPR News.

Berg was reported injured and hypothermic but alive and alert when located, according to ABC News.

Michigan State Police Lt. Ben Eckola said officials were thankful Berg was found alive and alert on Isle Royale, according to ABC News.

Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Wendy Janson called the rescue a testament to teamwork when first responders and community members come together, according to ABC News.

Janson said the Coast Guard was grateful to get Berg off the island and to needed medical care, according to ABC News.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Berg was walking in the hospital before the last searchers returned from searching, according to MPR News.

Why Isle Royale complicates rescue

Isle Royale is located off the northeast tip of Minnesota and is about 45 miles long and 9 miles wide, according to MPR News.

Aside from two hubs of visitor services at either end of Isle Royale, there are no roads or motor vehicles across the wilderness island, according to MPR News.

The park has a network of rugged trails, including the Greenstone Ridge Trail that spans nearly the entire length of the island, according to MPR News.

It also has several canoe routes that traverse inland lakes, including the lake where Berg was found, according to MPR News.

Park officials said the search covered dense forests, rocky shorelines, wetlands and inland lakes, where limited cellular coverage can also make communication challenging, according to MPR News.

Park officials said the successful outcome reflected the combined efforts of search teams, partner agencies and members of the public who assisted, according to MPR News.

Agencies and volunteers involved

The successful search involved the National Park Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Michigan State Police, Keweenaw County Sheriff's Department and members of the public hiking the island, according to WLUC.

Fox News reported the search also involved the National Park Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Keweenaw County Sheriff's Office, Wisconsin State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Public Safety, citing Michigan State Police public information officer Lt. Ben Eckola.

Eckola also thanked fellow hikers, Isle Royale Seaplanes and No One Left Behind K9 Search and Rescue, according to Fox News.

Multiple agencies deployed water, land and air crews after Berg went missing, according to Fox News.

Resources deployed included a 45-foot Coast Guard boat, drones and seaplanes, according to Fox News.

Readiness takeaway from a marsh, a lost phone and a mile off-trail

Berg's account links three problems for wilderness travelers: leaving the trail system, losing communication and losing navigation aids in wet terrain, according to MPR News.

Intermediate Lake sits in canoe-route country away from established hiking trails, while the surrounding search area included wetlands and inland lakes with limited cellular coverage, according to MPR News.

Travelers to Isle Royale face an island with no roads or motor vehicles outside two service hubs, rugged trails and unreliable communication, according to MPR News and Fox News.

Park officials noted limited cellular coverage can make communication challenging in the dense forests, shorelines, wetlands and lakes searched for Berg, according to MPR News.

The operation shows why a missed ferry or missed check-in can be the signal that starts a search when direct contact is impossible, as Berg's Sept. 5 ferry miss led to a Sept. 6 report, according to MPR News.

It also shows why narrowing a last confirmed location matters, because responders used Berg's last confirmed location to focus a 30-mile boat movement and almost five-mile hike before the Saturday find, according to WLUC.

Sources referenced