RED LAKE -- More agencies and organizations are assisting in the search efforts to find two fishermen who went missing on Lower Red Lake five weeks ago.
According to a post on its Facebook page, the Red Lake Department of Safety is working with
Bruce’s Legacy from Black River Falls, Wis., this week. Bruce’s Legacy is a nonprofit organization that assists families of drowning victims. The organization arrived Tuesday and started working on Wednesday and will continue through the weekend.
On Saturday, personnel from the Grand Forks (N.D.) Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue will come back to Red Lake, and will be working with tribal law enforcement to map and grid out new search areas to prepare for search technology called GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar).
The recent efforts come a week after search teams discovered foot imprints on the lake bottom and a shoe, believed to belong to one of the fishermen. The discoveries were made by crews using underwater remote vehicles.
ADVERTISEMENT
Deland Beaulieu, 29, and a 17-year-old boy, who has not been identified, disappeared the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 6, when their Red Lake Fisheries boat capsized on Lower Red Lake. A third man on the boat, 32-year-old Dominick Johnson, was able to swim to shore and survived.
To date, searchers have covered more than 52 acres, officials said in the Facebook post. All areas have been mapped using GPS and search crews also have been using remote-operated underwater vehicles with sonar and camera equipment.
The post also said Red Lake Fisheries is planning to purchase a remote-operated vehicle equipped with sonar and an underwater camera to help in the search.
Other agencies that have assisted with the effort so far include a team from Stutsman County in North Dakota, Valley Rescue from Fargo, St. Louis County and Crossman Consulting of Duluth.
The Red Lake Tribal Council has also announced a donation fund for the families of the missing fishermen at First National Bank in Bemidji.
“Once again, we will continue to update the community as new information becomes available and have not lost hope,” the post said.
