Hunter’s night rescue illuminates a unique Minnesota emergency team

A Minnesota hunter was lost Jan. 3 in the Mille Lacs County woods, and the odds of finding him on foot weren’t good.

The hunter was last heard from about 4:30 p.m. amid spotty cellphone reception and was last seen that morning, according to a sheriff’s department report.

Deputies attempted a brief search at 6 p.m. but were limited by the cold, the cloak of night and deep snow in the vast wildlife management area (WMA) where the St. Paul area man disappeared.

By about 7 p.m., the sheriff’s department changed course and called in help from the air, activating a state-run emergency response squad that is likely little-known to the Minnesotans it’s tasked with rescuing.

A helicopter unit called the Minnesota Air Rescue Team, combining State Patrol pilots and city of St. Paul firefighters trained in search and rescue, took off into the night for the 39,000-acre WMA.

As the only outfit in the state able to use its own aircraft in emergencies, MART has become a go-to supporting player for rescue efforts across Minnesota.

“It is one of the best assets the state has, especially for rural counties like ours,” said Tim Luoma, chief deputy in the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

“Had we not located him, it’s certainly possible he could have succumbed to the elements,” said Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton.

The four crew members who made the rescue — two State Patrol pilots and two firefighters — are part of a collaboration between departments that formed in 2009.

Until then, State Patrol helicopter pilots had helped in some emergencies, mostly by transporting law enforcement personnel to various scenes, and their role was limited and more informal.

“We recognized the need to get out injured individuals and that we didn’t have the resources,” said State Patrol Lt. Craig Benz, MART’s chief pilot.

To attain those resources, State Patrol leaders at the time leveraged ties to the St. Paul Fire Department. The firefighters added rescue and medical expertise, Benz said, and their proximity was a factor, too. The State Patrol, managed by Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety, is based in St. Paul.

Back in rural Mille Lacs County in early January, MART relied on different means to find the hunter.

Chief pilot Mike Olson and co-pilot Andrea Burdick, along with St. Paul firefighters Riley Onofrio and Steve Merth, wore night-vision goggles. Combined with the copter’s thermal imaging camera, they picked up the light from the hunter’s flashlight and his silhouette in a stand of trees. A clear night and the lack of foliage made the man easier to spot, too, Olson said.

Olson was unable to land, owing to deep snow and 3-foot-high grass, but he was able to hover just above a clearing. Onofrio and Merth jumped out and, after moving through snow that was nearly waist-deep in places, met up with the hunter about 100 yards off. He was a little disoriented and tired but unhurt.

“He was very happy to see us and get him out of there,” Merth said.

Olson and crew then transported the man to deputies nearby. The MART operation lasted less than 35 minutes.

The hunter’s rescue illuminated another MART advantage: night capability. In addition, the team has recently added a helicopter with a hoist, another tool, Benz said. “Even though a rescue agency can get personnel into a place, often it is getting the person out that is the challenge.”

MART’s expanding abilities have raised its profile among Minnesota law enforcement agencies, Benz said, and coincided with more work.

A noticeable uptick occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when more Minnesotans headed to the outdoors for refuge. Benz thinks inexperience could have been a factor.

MART responded to 33 calls across Minnesota in 2025, more than double those in 2024. Another 56 calls for service were called off during preflight preparations.

Last September, MART plucked a camper who’d broken a leg while in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The team also extracted a Voyageurs National Park visitor experiencing a medical emergency in border lake country.

The team has a $500,000 annual budget, but the state intentionally doesn’t charge partner agencies or the public for its response, Benz said.