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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Prominent Elyite, 75, found dead near BWCA

Mike Weinzierl formerly owned Mike Motors

Keith Vandervort
Posted 9/16/15

ELY- A 75-year-old Ely man, who went missing in the Superior National Forest just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness earlier this week, was found dead on Tuesday.

Michael Weinzierl …

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Prominent Elyite, 75, found dead near BWCA

Mike Weinzierl formerly owned Mike Motors

Posted

ELY- A 75-year-old Ely man, who went missing in the Superior National Forest just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness earlier this week, was found dead on Tuesday.

Michael Weinzierl was reportedly fishing by himself off the Fall Lake Campground about ten miles northeast of Ely, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities say it appears he drowned.

Weinzierl was the former owner of Mike Motors in Ely.

On Tuesday morning, search teams received a report of an abandoned boat located on the north side of Mile Island, near the boat ramp at Fall Lake.

Kurt Erickson, of the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, said upon inspection, Weinzerl’s boat was in gear, run into shore, and unoccupied. A life preserver was in the bow, along with fishing gear. “The plug for the boat was pulled and the boat had filled with water,” he said.

The Lake County Sheriff took custody of the boat to hold as evidence. They did recover the a cell phone.

After several hours of searching the land on foot and by air on Tuesday afternoon, the search concentrated on the water. The body of the retired businessman was found about 4:30 p.m.

“Once again we have a drowning with someone not wearing their PFD. Something happened that caused Mike to fall out of the boat and he did not have time to reach for his PFD,” Erickson said.

Search staging took place at Fall Lake Campground. Several law enforcement and emergency services agencies responded to the rescue scene. Rescuers utilized underwater cameras.

At the height of the search, there were about a dozen rescue vehicles on scene, two rescue boats in the water with two on shore, and at least two canine units.

“There was a great job done by all who were there,” Erickson said, “including good work from the north unit and good work from the south, the Forest Service with their Beaver, and the Minnesota State Police with their helicopter.”