Two hunters who wandered off course in thick woods south of Hibbing were found safe Monday evening after first responders launched a drone and rolled out ATVs to track them down. The hunters, a 40-year-old man from Duluth and a 39-year-old woman from Hibbing, walked away from the ordeal unharmed, and none of the rescuers reported any injuries either.
According to wdio.com, first responders were dispatched near South Townline Road and Hingeley Road around 6:40 p.m. Monday after a report that the pair had gone missing. From there, the search moved quickly into the surrounding forest, where crews began working to pinpoint the hunters' exact location.
Drone Spots the Pair Half a Mile Off the Road
A drone proved key to narrowing down the search area, locating the two hunters about half a mile from the road, per the same report. That aerial view gave rescuers a target to head toward, but reaching the hunters still meant grinding through some of the toughest terrain the woods had to offer.
ATVs got responders closer, cutting down the distance before the machines could go no further. From there, crews still had to walk a quarter mile through thick woods to finally reach the hunters, the outlet reported, a stretch that underscores just how dense and difficult the terrain south of Hibbing can be once you're off any marked trail.
Both Hunters and Responders Walked Away Unharmed
When rescuers finally made contact, both hunters were in good shape. No injuries were reported for either the hunters or the first responders, a relief given how far into the woods the search had to push and how long the operation stretched into the evening.
Separately, CBS News reported that the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office identified the missing hunters as a 39-year-old Hibbing woman and a 40-year-old Duluth man, and noted that deputies used ATVs and a drone during the search before hiking the final stretch on foot to bring the pair out safely. Hibbing sits roughly 75 miles northwest of Duluth and about 200 miles north of Minneapolis, placing the search well into the wooded expanse of the Iron Range that draws hunters each fall.
