Article from Minnesota newspaper about missing surfer from Great Lakes:

http://ecmpostreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2520&Itemid=1

Memorial fund set up for ‘surfer dude’
By Aaron Vehling

On March 13, former Chisago County resident Aaron Lamson, 34, disappeared while surfing off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i, where he lived with his wife, Sofia.

After three days of extensive effort, authorities called off the search.

A memorial fund to help Sofia was created at the First Bank of Wyoming in Wyoming, Minn. All contributions will go to help Sofia pay expenses and make arrangements associated with the loss of her husband.

Checks can be mailed and money can be deposited directly at the bank. Make checks out to the “Aaron Lamson Memorial Fund” at the First State Bank of Wyoming, 26741 Felton Ave., Wyoming, MN, 55092.

Lamson, a 1993 graduate of Chisago Lakes High School, lost his surfboard at about 1:41 p.m. on March 13 at a spot called “Crack 14,” located around the bend from Kuna Bay, according to a report from the Kaua’i County Fire Department.

For three days, firefighters and rescue workers conducted shoreline searches, as lifeguards searched the water on jet skis and as the U.S. Coast Guard searched by helicopter and plane.

A Coast Guard spokesman said that what appeared to be a man’s body was spotted on Saturday, March 14, in the area Lamson was last seen, according to Hawaiian media. The rough waves hindered the Coast Guard’s efforts to find him.

Lamson and his wife were living in Moloa’a, a town on Kaua’i. He worked at Kayak Adventures as a tour guide on that company’s Wailua River tours and was known as a seasoned surfer.

Lamson’s bosses, Gayle and Keith Mitzel, wrote on their Web site that Lamson “was not only an incredible guide and employee, but an overall good guy with a big heart and spirit. Words can’t describe how sad we all are over this unfortunate accident.”

Friends and family held a memorial gathering Friday, March 20, at Anini Beach on the north coast of Kaua’i from noon until sundown.

The Mitzel’s, on Kayak Adventures’ MySpace page, described Lamson as “without a doubt a surfer dude. Anyone who knew him could attest to the fact that his heart was big and he always had a smile on his face that could light up a room.”

Lamson’s sister, Ashley, wrote on that same page a message to her brother: “I will never forget you or the memories, Aaron. You taught us all so much about life. I LOVE YOU!!!”