Update: Hiker thought missing on Kekekabic Trail found safe

Update: The hiker presumed missing during the weekend of March 16-18 was found safe without needing rescue assistance. 

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office was contacted just after 8 p.m. on March 16 to inform them of a possible missing person. John Oker-Blom, 45, of Minneapolis, had planned to snowshoe the Kekekabic Trail from the Gunflint Trail to Ely, a distance of approximately 40 miles. He set out on the hike at about 10 a.m. on March 15.
 
His partner, Daria Day, was following his journey with a SPOT GPS locator. After Oker-Blom had not moved for more than five hours, she contacted Cook County law enforcement dispatch to let them know assistance might be needed. His SPOT locator showed him in the same point on the trail from 1 p.m. to past 7 p.m. It appeared he was about 12 miles in from the trailhead.
 
Oker-Blom had not activated the emergency response button on the SPOT locator, but from discussion they had before he set out, Day said she felt he might need help. She said he was very experienced with this type of excursion and had appropriate clothing and supplies for staying on the trail several nights so she didn’t think there was a need for responders to set out in the dark. She was traveling to the Gunflint area from the Twin Cities and planned to head out on the trail in the morning to try to reach Oker-Blom by two-way radio.
 
When Oker-Blom’s SPOT locator showed that he had still not moved the next morning, a search effort was begun. Just before 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, a sheriff deputy, a US Forest Service officer and US Border Patrol unit met with members of the Gunflint Trail Search and Rescue at Gunflint Fire Hall 3. Searchers asked for assistance from the Minnesota State Patrol with aircraft, which was authorized at 11 a.m.
 
According to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 12 p.m., Day received another SPOT location signal from Oker-Blom. His new location was at French Lake, more than two miles from where the locator had last sent a signal. It appeared that Oker-Blom had diverted away from the Kekekabic Trail, but was now following his tracks back.
 
Oker-Blom had still not pressed the SOS button on the SPOT locator and was moving at a healthy pace back out, so the search and rescue response effort was cancelled. Responders asked Day to contact the Sheriff’s Office if further help was needed. Emergency responders were clear of the scene at 1:54 p.m.