Camper rescued in Porcupine Mountains

A number of emergency crews and law enforcement agencies took part in a search and rescue effort in the Porcupine Mountains State Park in Ontonagon County Friday night.

Shortly after 8:00 p.m., the Negaunee Regional Dispatch received a 911 call from a camper on a cell phone in a remote area of the Porcupine Mountains. The call was about an 18-year-old Wisconsin woman who was sick, unable to stand or walk, and required immediate medical attention.

Due to the remote location of the campers, the rescue teams traveled by watercraft on Lake Superior for 12 miles to the mouth of the Big Carp River. Once they reached land, the rescue officials traveled the remaining two miles on foot.

The woman was transported by S.O.N.C.O. Ambulance to Ontonagon Aspirus Hospital for treatment. She has since been released and has returned to her home in Wisconsin.

Rangers from the Porcupine Mountains State Park, law enforcement officers from the Ontonagon County Sheriff’s Department, Troopers from the Wakefield Post of the Michigan State Police, and members of the Ontonagon County Community Emergency Response Team all assisted in the rescue effort. An off duty employee of the Michigan Department of Corrections and a teacher from the Rudyard School District who were camping nearby and also assisted at the scene.