11/14/2026
After an extensive rescue effort, an Eveleth man was in critical condition after falling from a tree stand while hunting, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident happened Friday. According to the sheriff’s office, at approximately 8:08 p.m., deputies responded to a call of an overdue hunter near Whiteface Reservoir Road in unorganized Township 56-14. A 74-year-old man from Eveleth went out hunting around 8:30 a.m., but as of Friday afternoon, had not checked in with family members. The sheriff’s office asked for help from the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, which used multiple personnel and special equipment.
Just after 10 p.m., the man was located by a rescue squad drone in a heavily-wooded area, approximately a mile from Whiteface Reservoir Road. When responders arrived, the man was semi-conscious, severely hypothermic and had visible injuries to his abdomen, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies learned that the man fell from a tree stand approximately 12 feet above the ground and believe that he was on the ground for several hours. The sheriff’s office said an extensive rescue effort took place to safely extricate the man from the woods and that he was ultimately airlifted to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. The sheriff’s office added that at the time of the rescue, the hunter appeared to be in critical condition. No other details are available at this time.
Assisting the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office and St. Louis County Rescue Squad with the incident were the Hoyt Lakes Fire and EMS Department, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol and Life Link III air medical.