19-07-2025
Authorities suspend ground search for northern Minnesota man missing for weeks
Authorities suspend ground search for northern Minnesota man missing for weeks originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office has suspended a ground search for a 40-year-old northern Minnesota man who's been missing since the beginning of July.
Gene Doherty was last seen leaving his mother's home near Silver Bay on July 1. His vehicle, a 2009 Ford Edge, was found on July 11 on Brule Lake Road between Cascade Lake and Little Cascade Lake, part of the Superior National Forest.
The sheriff's office says it's suspending the ground search for Doherty due to challenging terrain, limited resources, and a lack of results from search and rescue operations.
For the past week, authorities have focused on the 451-acre Cascade Lake, where a detection dog pinpointed Doherty's scent at the public boat landing, with crews using boats and sonar to search the water and shoreline.
'We've had a great search and rescue group,' Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen told WTIP. "They give it everything."
The sheriff's office plans to continue searching Cascade Lake every day until July 22. After that, crews will reassess and "maybe try something else," the sheriff told the Grand Marais-based radio station.
"We're going to keep it up as long as we can, as long as resources hold out, and as long as we can get people to do it," Eliasen said.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office, Cook County Search and Rescue, the U.S. Forest Service, and St. Louis County Search and Rescue have been assisting in the search and rescue effort.
Anyone with information should contact the Lake County Sheriff's Office at 218-834-8385, or 911.
Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement's latest version of events, and may be subject to change.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
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