Graham Jaehnig/Daily Mining Gazette Keweenaw County agencies have been flooded with requests and demands for information and documents related to the deaths of two campers on Isle Royale in June.

EAGLE RIVER – The identities of two campers found deceased on Isle Royale on June 8 have been officially confirmed. The Keweenaw County Clerk’s Office was permitted to release the preliminary death certificates for the two individuals Tuesday.

The names of the deceased are John David Baird, age 60, and Bradley Kenneth Baird, aged 30, both of Northville, Michigan.

According to the death certificates, the individuals identified as John Baird, and Bradley Baird, were father and son. According to John Baird’s death certificate, he was a military veteran and worked in the insurance industry. Bradley Baird was a self-employed writer.

On June 10, Isle Royale National Park published a press release stating that on June 8 park rangers received two separate reports of two individuals found deceased at a remote backcountry campground within the park. Two rangers hiked overnight 11 miles to the campground to assess the situation. The rangers arrived early the next morning, and confirmed two unidentified persons were found deceased. The causes of death are unknown at this time.

A June 12 release from the National Park stated the deceased campers had been identified and their next of kin had been notified. The release did not include their names.

Since the initial NPS release, various agencies in Keweenaw County have been inundated with inquiries from news agencies across the state and the country, including FOIA requests and appeals.

At the June 18 regular monthly of the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners, Sheriff Curt Pennala said while Isle Royale is a National Park, it is within Keweenaw County, and his department sent staff to Isle Royale to assist at the scene until Federal investigators could arrive.

“Because the deaths occurred in Keweenaw County, our medical examiners are part of that case, so they will have some information at some point,” said Pennala. “The point of us rejecting (the FOIA request) to fulfill FOIA requirements was that the case still is under investigation by the Feds.”

On Monday, the board of commissioners held a special meeting to reconsider the board’s June 18 denial of a FOIA appeal. The denied appeal sought reversal of the Clerk’s denial of a FOIA request for the following: “Any death records compiled or created related to the deaths of two individuals who were discovered at Isle Royale National Park on June 8.”

According to the special meeting announcement posted on the Keweenaw County website, the names and birthdates of the deceased individuals were known to the Keweenaw County Medical Investigator who pronounced the individuals to be deceased and who is “presumed to have a written

record of same.” The names and birthdates of the deceased individuals will also be known within the Clerk’s Office upon the filing of their death certificates.

On Tuesday, the Keweenaw County Clerk’s Office received authorization to release the preliminary death certificates.

“I was told by the State that I could release death certificates after someone fills out the vital records form and pays the fee for the certificates,” said County Clerk Julie Carlson.

Carlson said her office has been flooded with phone calls and emails for information from news agencies across the country since the Isle Royale National Park issued the first release on the incident on June 10.

The death certificates for each of the deceased states the causes of death are pending the law enforcement investigation and autopsy findings, though autopsies have been completed.