ELY, Minn. — A teenage boy and a woman from Texas camping with a Boy Scouts adventure program were killed and two other campers were injured when severe storms swept through a remote area along the Canada border, the leader of the program said Thursday.
The boy and the female volunteer with the Northern Tier High Adventure Base Program died while camping, according to general manager John Van Dreese. Authorities said the group was camping on Basswood Lake in Quetico Provincial Park in Canada when strong winds blew through early Thursday. The Boy Scouts previously had said the campers were on the U.S. side of the forest in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but the Scouts later confirmed that the campers were in Canada. Quetico Provincial Park is adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
Storms that moved through parts of Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada early Thursday knocked down trees and power lines. Strong winds knocked down trees that killed the two campers and injured the two others, the Boys Scouts of America said. The two young campers who were injured were taken to a hospital but their injuries are not considered life-threatening, the Boy Scouts said.
Ontario Provincial Police identified the two who died as 13-year-old Christian James Sanchez of Lewisville, Texas, and 39-year-old Rorth Lac of Carrollton, Texas.
Last month, the brother of a Minnesota congressman was killed during a Father's Day camping trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness when a powerful storm brought a tree down on his tent. Craig Walz, 43, the brother of Democratic U.S. Rep Tim Walz, was killed at Duncan Lake as the storm hit. His son was injured.
The severe weather early Thursday knocked out power for tens of thousands of people in Minnesota on a day that was expected to be the hottest of the season. Trees, branches and debris blocked roads in northeastern Minnesota and elsewhere.
