Body of second missing canoeist recovered from Minong Flowage
Nov. 15—WASCOTT — After more than two weeks of searching, the body of a second missing canoeist has been recovered from the Minong Flowage. This recovery comes a week after the body of the other missing canoeist was recovered.
In a news release, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said the body of Andrew DeRock, 27, of New Ulm, Minnesota, was located Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 15.
DeRock, along with Ryan Busch, 26, also of New Ulm, went out in a canoe sometime on Saturday, Oct. 28. They were reported missing to the sheriff's office at 12:46 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 29 after family members located their capsized canoe.
Busch's body was recovered last Wednesday, Nov. 8.
According to the sheriff's office, weather conditions at the time of the incident were clear, calm, with a full moon, and not considered a factor.
Multiple agencies assisted the Douglas County Sheriff's Office during the 18-day period, conducting land, water and air searches. According to the sheriff's office, obstacles such as weather, cold water temperatures, submerged stumps and natural foliage in the search area hindered search efforts. Assisting agencies included the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Sawyer County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, Superior Dive Team, Wascott, Gordon and Minong Fire Departments, Newbold Fire (Vilas County) K9 teams and Sarah Garfunkel with KERT — K9 Emergency Response Team. According to the news release, six different sheriffs assisted Douglas County throughout the operation.
A GoFundMe site has been established for the families at
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