2 missing hikers found safe in NE Minn.

Two missing hikers were found safe Thursday in a rugged section of northeastern Minnesota, authorities said.

"They've been picked up," Cook County Chief Deputy Leif Lunde told The Associated Press.

A Minnesota State Patrol helicopter found the two women at about 3:15 p.m. on the north side of Glee Lake, according to the Cook County sheriff's office.

At 3:40 p.m. the women were verified as the missing hikers, and both are healthy. They were being flown by helicopter out of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to Ely.

The missing hikers were two women from Duluth - Maria Jacenko, 42, and Grace Knezevich, 23. They left Ely last Friday on the Kekekabic Trail bound for the Gunflint Trail about 40 miles away. They were to be picked up Monday, but didn't make it.

Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk said the aerial search was being done using a Forest Service airplane, and a helicopter each from the Border Patrol and the State Patrol.

He said there were also about a dozen searchers on the Kekekabic Trail between Ely and the Gunflint Trail.

"It's rough terrain," Falk said. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most difficult, "it's 7.5 overall and 10 in spots. It's very hilly and steep in spots."

John Siebenand, who has lived with missing hiker Maria Jacenko for the past 12 years, told the Star Tribune both women were in excellent shape and have "all the latest gear." He said Jacenko was also an experienced camper.

"I'm sure they can survive a week without anything," Siebenand said from the home that he and Jacenko share.

He said Jacenko works as a physical therapist and Knezevich is a registered nurse at Benedictine Health Center in Duluth.

Falk said following the Kekakabic Trail can be difficult due to down trees and places were fires have burned through.

"Some of the trail is almost impossible to follow," Falk said. "It's not a trail for novices."

Lunde, the chief deputy, said those searching on the ground were mostly Forest Service employees accustomed to working in the rugged terrain of northeastern Minnesota. He said volunteer searchers weren't needed.

Falk said Jacenko and Knezevich were last heard from Sunday when they used a cell phone to call the person who was supposed to pick them up on Monday. They were in good spirits and noted the spectacular view from where they were.

While the cell phone company has been unable to pinpoint where that call was made, authorities believe it may have been made near Kekekabic Lake because there is an old tower site on a hill that could have given them cell phone reception.

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Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)