The St. Louis County Sheriff's Department assisted in the rescue of an injured camper north of Ely in the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area early Saturday morning. Daniel Sternac-Stein, 35, of Finland, was camping on Big Rice Lake with two companions when he accidentally injured his left leg with a hatchet. His friends attempted to carry Sternac-Stein out of the area, but he was unable to travel, and his companions went for help.
They notified the 911 center in Virginia of Sternac-Stein's injury and location before daylight Saturday morning. The St. Louis Rescue Squad and the Morse First Responders were dispatched to the scene, and at sunrise, the U.S. Forest Service sent a Beaver floatplane to pick him up. He was transported to the Ely Hospital by ambulance from the U.S. Forest Service Seaplane Base in Ely.
While Sternac-Stein's injury was serious, it did not appear to be life-threatening, according to St. Louis County Undersheriff Dave Phillips said. The wounded camper was taken to safety with the help of a Beaver floatplane.
