cbs news
Four girls were rescued from an island on Lake Superior early Sunday after a lost set of paddles stranded them there.
The girls — ages 14, 13, 10 and 8 — had paddleboarded to the island from Black Beach in Silver Bay, Minnesota, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
The girls’ parents called the sheriff’s office just after 8 p.m. Saturday to report the girls were stranded. Weather prevented local authorities from rescuing them, so the U.S. Coast Guard sent a helicopter from Traverse City, Michigan.
While waiting for the helicopter, authorities used a rope relay to get blankets and food to the girls.
Around 1 a.m., the helicopter arrived and brought the girls back to Silver Bay, where they were reunited with their parents. More
Those dumb girls! Lake Superior is the coldest fresh water lake I’ve tried to swim in. And Traverse City Michigan is a long haul for a helicopter. Back when I was young I ran into the Arctic Ocean in far north Alaska. It was shallow water so we had to run at least a hundred yards before we could throw ourselves in. That water was so cold it hurt. Lake Superior is not much different.
Wallowa Lake a glacier fed lake in NE Oregon is also extremely cold. Even when it is 90 to 100 degrees outside during the summer the water is only about 40 degrees or so and will take your breath away and shrivel your nuts if you’re a guy. It’s like taking a polar bear plunge in the middle of the summer.
“ages 14, 13, 10 and 8 “. I’m going to give them an A for what the fxck. Not very bright but free thinkers none the less. Future conservatives.
Darwin award narrowly averted.
You know Bill Clinton was asking if he could hitch a ride on that helicopter.
Reckless, but brave and adventurous. Compare to inner city animals.
Better than an iphone adventure sitting on your ass. Good for them.
Looking at a map, I am guessing the island is 200 yards from the beach. Either that or many, many miles. Did they err? Sure, but it’s not like they were trying to cross the lake or something.
20+ years ago my scout group got kicked off Yellowstone Lake. 7 scouts (ages 16-17), me and a dad, and our 20 year old guide who was officially in charge. Prior to launching (early August) they tried to scare us with water so cold we would go into shock if we fell in. It just wasn’t true. We were being safe, but rather than stick to a plan of 4 miles per day (about an hour of paddling), we ended up crossing the entire lake on day 2. Day 3 they found us in the morning and kicked us off the lake. Turns out they had done a massive search for us the previous night, of which we were blissfully oblivious! 🙂
The parents really dropped the ball on this one. They didn’t report the girls missing until 8:00pm that evening. An adult should have been with this group the whole time, especially on a great lake and especially Lake Superior. I don’t care if it’s late summer, it’s Lake Superior and Gordon Lightfoot didn’t write that song as folklore.
Any why didn’t someone have a phone with them? I thought somebody always carries a phone with them everywhere and take selfies of everything.
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/08/4-young-sisters-rescued-by-coast-guard-were-stranded-on-island-after-paddleboarding-in-lake-superior.html
Left Coast Dan
Wednesday, 20 August 2025, 6:19 at 6:19 am
“Turns out they had done a massive search for us the previous night, of which we were blissfully oblivious!”
“Not all those that wander are lost”
It was only supposed to be a three hour tour. A three hour tour.
Sounds like some children will need a good paddling.
An adventure involving youngsters. Kind of a bit reckless. An accident involving lost paddles. Parents letting them be kids outside until the evening.
Man, that’s old school. No helicopter parents. No cell phones. Giving kids some rope to explore. And despite a scare, all’s well that end’s well. It reminds me of how I grew up.
Did these girls take Gilligan with them as their guide.
Give it a rest. I’m so sick and tired of hearing about this on the Duluth news. You would think this was one of the most harrowing rescues ever performed on the Great Lakes.
They should have sent some paddles along with the food and blankets.
Fairbourne Island seems reasonable to be the island they went to.
Not miles and within sight of the beach they were at.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Black+Beach/@47.2968936,-91.2429498,1058m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x52a8adf21227686d:0xed7e2695eb4c457d!8m2!3d47.2937965!4d-91.2466602!16s%2Fg%2F11byn05rv2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgxOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D