Body recovered from Birch Lake in BWCAW by using sonar technology

Authorities were still trying to determine the cause of a death of a man who died while canoeing on Birch Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. According to Nick Milkovich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, James Schofield, 46, of Hagerstown, MD was paddling in a canoe when he groaned and fell overboard.His body was found a day later using an underwater sonar device.“They just got to the lake,” said Milkovich. “They had been towed to the portage by Canoe Country Outfitters so they were only on the lake for less than half an hour.”Schofield was travelling with four other friends in a total of three canoes. None of the men were wearing life jackets while paddling. Milkovich said Schofield was on medication for seizures.The incident happened around 1 p.m. on Monday. The sheriff’s department got the call around 2:30 p.m. Milkovich was flown to the scene by the Forest Service to talk to the party members and to try to pinpoint where the canoe tipped over.Milkovich said he used a GPS to mark the location and then returned the next day with a $35,000 Sea Scan sonar unit to locate the body. “Using the Sea Scan we found the body right away,” said Milkovich.The sonar is towed behind a boat and projects images from as far away as 33 feet. Divers tried to locate the body but the underwater visibility was obscured by mucky bottom conditions.Drag lines were then used.“The Sea Scan really works well and it saves a lot of time looking,” said Milkovich. The Sea Scan is owned by law enforcement agencies throughout northeastern Minnesota. It is kept in Grand Rapids where it can be retrieved for operations such as trying to locate a drowning victim.Milkovich said an autopsy was being performed to determine the exact cause of death. Also participating in the search mission were the Lake and St. Louis county rescue squads and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department.