Bystanders rescue three women stranded on Steamboat Lake near Cass Lake

Quick-thinking bystanders turned a drifting-boat emergency on Steamboat Lake into a rescue Thursday afternoon, after three women were stranded in the water south of Cass Lake. One of the women swam to a resort in Wilkinson Township to get help, and a fisherman plus several resort guests found the others and brought them back to shore before the sheriff’s office fully arrived.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office said the emergency was reported at 12:47 p.m. on June 11, 2026, and deputies reached the resort within three minutes of the 911 call. Sheriff Bryan Welk credited the outcome to the “quick actions” of the fisherman and resort guests, who immediately searched for the swimmers and got them to safety.

Later reports identified the women as Minneapolis residents ages 23, 25 and 28. The sheriff’s office said they had gone into the water to swim when their boat drifted away in strong wind. They were not wearing life jackets and had not anchored the boat, leaving them stranded as gusts reached 25 to 30 mph.

Leech Lake Ambulance treated all three women on scene for minor injuries, including exhaustion and water intake, and they were expected to be OK. The rescue underscored how fast a calm afternoon on a north-central Minnesota lake can turn dangerous when a boat is left unsecured and swimmers are separated from it by wind and distance.

For Beltrami County and Cass Lake-area residents, the scene carried a familiar warning. Lakeside cabins, resorts and day-use traffic across the region create the same mix of wind, open water and split-second decision-making every summer. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says boating and water recreation come with serious responsibilities and that life jackets save lives, a message that fits this rescue as much as any formal safety campaign.

This case also showed how much first response still depends on ordinary people who notice trouble early. A woman reaching shore for help, a fisherman who kept searching and resort guests who acted without delay made the difference before the official response fully unfolded. With the boat already gone and the swimmers exposed to wind and water, that chain of action prevented a far worse outcome on Steamboat Lake.