A 70-year-old hiker who had been missing for a week on a remote Michigan island was lifted to safety “alive and alert,” authorities said.
Craig Berg was located Saturday in Isle Royale National Park after fellow backpackers spotted him and alerted authorities. His rescue involved Michigan State Police and K-9 search teams, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Officials and the Detroit Free Press reported that Berg was injured and suffering from hypothermia after surviving alone in the park’s harsh, rugged wilderness. The remote area has no cell service, drones or motorized vehicles, making the search especially challenging.
Berg’s wife, Debbie, told the newspaper that he had traveled to the 207-square-mile park near Michigan’s border with Canada for a lengthy solo hiking trip. He was expected home on Sept. 5, but never arrived.
“He went on an extended hike there and did not show up when he was supposed to, to catch the ferry back,” Debbie said.
Dramatic footage released by the Coast Guard shows an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter lifting Berg from the expansive wilderness. He was then taken to a hospital for medical evaluation.
Authorities have not disclosed the full extent of Berg’s injuries or explained how he became separated from his planned route.
On Friday, a 45-foot response boat and a Coast Guard helicopter brought Michigan State Police troopers and K-9 teams to Isle Royale to assist in the search for the missing Royal Oak man.
“We’re thankful that missing hiker, Craig Berg, was found alive and alert on Isle Royale,” Lt. Ben Eckola, Michigan State Police Eighth District Public Information Officer, said in a statement.
The extensive search effort included the National Park Service, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Eckola said.
Eckola also thanked the hikers who helped locate Berg, Isle Royale Seaplanes and No One Left Behind K9 Search and Rescue, saying the combined efforts were crucial to bringing him to safety.
