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They came to Canada looking for an adventure in the wild.
They got it.
Three Minnesota girls won't forget the time they became stranded and spent a night in central Manitoba's unspoiled wilderness after their canoe washed away in the middle of nowhere, requiring a rescue by the RCMP.
"The area is very remote. It's for experienced canoeists," said Bloodvein RCMP Cpl. Kevin Elliott.
"There's some pretty serious rapids. You can have encounters with bears. The mosquitoes are probably 10 times as bad as they are in Winnipeg."
Strangely, it was one of three water-related rescues in Manitoba in recent days. All involved survived.
The three 17-year-old girls' tale, however, may be the most harrowing given the environment and length of the ordeal.
Elliott said the teens met up while doing solo canoe trips as part of a larger canoe adventure organized by Les Voyageurs, a Minnesota organization which provides month-long outdoor leadership trips in remote regions of Manitoba and Ontario. The trip was well-planned and the girls were well-prepared, he said.
They didn't have a device such as a GPS or satellite phone in case of emergency, but it may have been washed away with the canoe, he said.
The girls were supposed to meet the rest of the nine-person group at a base camp at Sturgeon Falls but their canoe was washed away Sunday by rapids on the Pigeon River, about 300 km north of Winnipeg.
The girls lost some of their food and gear. They slept in garbage bags Sunday night until they were spotted by four canoeists from Brantford, Ont., Elliott said.
He said the base camp used its GPS device to contact 911 to report the girls overdue Monday at 11:15 a.m.
Elliott and a helicopter scoured the area until they found the girls and the Brantford men about 20 km downstream from Round Lake.
The pilot hovered while Elliott jumped down to a rock ridge and used an axe to clear a spot to land and pick up the girls, who were flown to base camp.
Elliott said the girls were tired, wet and a little shaken. The group's 28-day excursion in the wild ends today.
No one from Les Voyageurs returned a message seeking comment.
Meanwhile, a couple and their two grandsons were rescued by an off-duty Onanole firefighter and Parks Canada employees minutes after their canoe capsized on Katherine Lake in Riding Mountain National Park yesterday.
RCMP said the rescue was a success because everyone in the canoe was wearing a flotation device and clung to the canoe.
Saturday afternoon, two Winnipeg men were rescued from Cherry Island on Lake Manitoba, 24 hours after their boat broke down and they became stranded.
The pair had food with them, RCMP said.
chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca