Robbed on a Canoe Trip

     I never thought I would be writing about bandits on a canoe trail, yet here I am.  On Friday, September 1st, around 4:00 PM a canoe party outfitted by Williams and Hall had their kevlar canoe and other items stolen at the portage at the lake between Fran and Bell Lake in the Quetico Park. A number of packs were taken and among the stolen items were cameras, binoculars, and a satellite phone. Details are sketchy but it appears the party of 4 had made one trip across the portage and when they returned for their 2nd trip their canoe and belongings were gone.  They didn’t notice anyone following them, anyone on the portage, or anyone on the lake.  They made sure their canoe and items were far from the water so it isn’t possible the canoe floated away.  The thieves must have waited in the woods for the group to start their portage and then grabbed their canoe and gear, paddled across the lake and got onto the next portage before the group returned.

     In our 14 years at Voyageur we have never heard of anything getting stolen from a portage or campsite.  This news is extremely disturbing to us as I am sure it is to all of you as well.  I do not want to think someone could steal equipment from a fellow wilderness traveler so I am hoping for some sort of explanation.  We will be sure to keep you posted when we have more information about this incident.  In the meantime, if you happen to see a canoe with a Williams and Hall Logo on it or hear of anything suspicious about the event then please contact the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.

And, as Paul Harvey would say, Here’s the Rest of the Story…

 I knew there had to be a reasonable explanation for the alleged robbery on Friday, September 1st in the Quetico Park.  A group of 4 people had finished their first trip across the portage and returned for their second trip and much to their astonishment their other canoe and gear were missing.  They were sure the canoe was pulled way up on land so it could not have floated away.  The only explanation they could think of was that someone had stolen their canoe and all of their gear.  They hadn’t seen anyone following them, and there wasn’t anyone else on the lake or portage.  Two of the group paddled out to inform officials of the crime that had been committed.  After alerting both the Canadian and US authorities, a search began.  The missing gear was discovered on Monday, September 4th by the Canadian authorities.  Upon close inspection the authorities determined the equipment had not been stolen or moved from the original place where the canoe party left it.  The canoe group just took a wrong turn on the portage and ended up on a different spot on the shoreline and couldn’t find where they had left their gear.  WOW.  That is something else.  I am so happy to hear there really wasn’t a crime committed in the Quetico Park, unless of course it’s a crime to lose your canoe while on a canoe trip…