Father Craig Berg was scheduled to return from his solo hiking trip on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale on Sept. 5, a week before he was found
Credit: Berg Family
NEED TO KNOW
- A 70-year-old father was found on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale on Saturday, Sept. 12, a week after he failed to return home from a solo hiking trip
- Michigan State Police troopers and backpackers found Craig Berg “injured and hypothermic,” according to a U.S. Coast Guard statement
- Berg’s trip was due to last from Thursday, Aug. 27, to Saturday, Sept. 5, but his family last heard from him on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and raised the alarm after he didn’t check into his hotel and board his ferry as planned
A 70-year-old hiker has been found on a Michigan island a week after he went missing, the U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed.
Michigan State Police troopers and backpackers found Craig Berg in an “injured and hypothermic” condition on Lake Superior’s Isle Royale on Saturday, Sept. 12, per a Coast Guard statement.
After Berg was located, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City hoisted and transported him to the Marquette Regional Airport in Gwinn, Mich., about 140 miles away.
From the airport, emergency services transported Berg, who had last contacted his family on Wednesday, Sept. 2, per NBC affiliate WDIV, to a local hospital for medical care.
Credit: U.S. Coast Guard
Berg’s relatives told the outlet that he arrived at Isle Royale National Park for a solo hiking trip on Thursday, Aug. 27, and was expected to leave on Saturday, Sept. 5.
After he didn’t check into his hotel and board a ferry home, his wife alerted the rest of the family, WDIV reported.
His son, Evan Berg, picked him up from the hospital hours after he was found. Speaking to the outlet, he recalled the moment his stepmother texted him to let him know his father had been found.
“I yelled at the top of my lungs, ‘He’s alive!’ ” he said. “People looked at me, and oh, man, it was a wonderful feeling.”
Credit: Getty Stock Images
He added to NBC and Fox affiliate WLUC, “He was in rough shape, but he’s okay. He’s able to speak. He asked for food and water. We’re just so grateful, and we couldn’t be more happy and relieved.”
Berg’s sister, Kim McGowan, told WDIV her brother is an experienced hiker and keen runner who often travels solo, and was even planning to run a race with his son the Monday after he was scheduled to return home.
“We’re thankful that missing hiker, Craig Berg, was found alive and alert on Isle Royale,” Lt. Ben Eckola of the Michigan State Police said in the Coast Guard’s statement.
Praising his fellow officers, other regional agencies and Berg’s fellow hikers, he added, “Everyone’s efforts played an important part in finding Craig.”
Credit: Isle Royale National Park/Facebook
“This rescue is a testament to teamwork and what can be accomplished when first responders and members of the community come together,” Senior Chief Petty Officer Wendy Janson, command duty officer, Sector Northern Great Lakes command center, continued.
“We are extremely grateful we were able to get Mr. Berg safely off the island and deliver him to the medical care he needed.”
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More details about the circumstances surrounding his disappearance are not yet known, but Berg told his son he has “enough stories to fill a book” from his time on the island, WDIV reported.
PEOPLE reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard, Michigan State Police and Isle Royale National Park for updates but did not immediately hear back.
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