Blueberry Picker Missing on the Gunflint Trail

I wish I were joking this time but I’m not. An 82 year old local man who was berry picking on the Gunflint Trail on Thursday has not been seen since. Search crews have been scouring the area and have been unable to find him.  A search is resuming again this morning. Some people are speculating he has passed on. If this is the case then I hope he did so with a belly full of berries enjoying what he was doing.

Search continues for missing Grand Marais man

Submitted by star on Fri, 08/02/2013 – 12:00pm

A search is under way for a missing Grand Marais man, Paul Brandt, 82, of Grand Marais. Brandt went blueberry picking up the Gunflint Trail on Thursday afternoon and did not return home. He was picking blueberries in the area south of the U.S. Forest Service Seagull Guard Station. His vehicle was found in that vicinity.

According to Cook County Law Enforcement, Brandt is 6’1, 190 pounds and has gray hair and blue eyes. He wears glasses. It is not known what he is wearing.

Brandt is described as in good health and “pretty fit.” Brandt lives on the Gunflint Trail and it is unusual for him not to return home.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Cook County Search and Rescue, the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department, US Forest Service and friends and relatives have been searching for Brandt since the initial call at 9:40 p.m. on Thursday, August 1. Also assisting in the search is the Minnesota State Patrol and search dogs with Central Lakes Search and Rescue.