Park ranger dies trying to help family in Voyageurs National Park

A National Park Service ranger died Sunday attempting to help a family stranded on an island in Voyageurs National Park.

St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said in a phone call that the ranger, who had experience and was close to retirement, was trying to rescue a father and his two sons whose boat had been pushed ashore on an island because of the high winds.

The winds on Namakan Lake, at the Canadian border, whipped up waves that reached between 5 and 6 feet Sunday morning.

Shortly after the ranger evacuated the family from the island, the Park Service boat they were in took on water and capsized, Ramsay said.

All four people were thrown into the water, but the family was able to swim to safety, according to a Park Service release.

The ranger did not surface.

His body was found at 3:20 p.m., after a three-hour search, according to the Park Service.

“One of the rangers that was out there said he has never seen conditions as wild as they were earlier today with the winds,” Ramsay said.

The ranger, who authorities plan to publicly identify Monday, was known in the community and volunteered to provide emergency medical services in the area, Ramsay said.

“He was just all about helping others and that’s what he died doing was helping others,” Ramsay said. “He had a servant’s heart by all accounts.”