Longtime BWCA regular missing on Pine Lake, canoe found

The search for a missing Duluth, Minnesota man in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Search resumed at daybreak Tuesday. Michael Raymond Hickey, 59, was reported missing Monday afternoon after failing to attend work, and attempts to contact him were unsuccessful Sunday.

Hickey was expected to return home Sunday from a weekend fishing trip at Pine Lake, which he frequently visits. Monday night, Cook County deputies and a search and rescue team found a partially-submerged canoe and paddles registered to Hickey.

Pine Lake is located off of the Arrowhead Trail in the BWCA, north of Hovland, Minnesota. The lake consists of 18.22 miles of shoreline, has a maximum depth of 113 feet, and covers 2,122 acres.

"We are conducting an extensive search and doing everything we can to locate Mr. Hickey, including a ground, water and air search with resources from the sheriff's office, search and rescue, the United States Forest Service, United States Border Patrol, Minnesota State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources," said Sheriff Pat Eliasen. "We are working with Mr. Hickey's son, who is currently at the scene."