Lost Hunter Found in Clearwater County

On Saturday, October 7th, at approximately 8:30 pm, a call came into the Clearwater County dispatch center reporting a lost hunter near Robinson Lake in Itasca Township. A Clearwater County deputy responded and spoke to the reporting parties and learned that a group of hunters had come to the location to hunt grouse. They were all supposed to meet up at 5:00 pm and all but one had shown up. The lost hunter was a 24 year old male from St. Paul. The Minnesota State Patrol was notified and they responded with an aircraft with an infrared camera. After searching for nearly two hours, the hunter was not found. Additional Clearwater County deputies responded in the early morning hours of October 8th and began searching trails on ATV’s and on foot. A drone belonging to a private citizen was also used in an attempt to locate the lost hunter. The North Star Search and rescue organization from Maple Lake, Minnesota was called to bring scent specific K9’s and specialized drones to aid in the search. Prior to their arrival, at approximately 10:15 am, a private citizen located the lost hunter walking along Mallard Grade Trail and he was reunited with his hunting party. The Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all of the public that came out to assist by driving trails looking for the lost hunter. The successful outcome would not have been possible without their assistance.