The deaths at Summer Isle Royale were ruled a murder-suicide

Michigan authorities have confirmed that two people found dead at a remote backcountry campground in Isle Royale National Park earlier this summer died in a murder-suicide.

According to death certificates issued by Keweenaw County officials in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 60-year-old John Byrd was homicide, “after being stabbed multiple times” in the head, torso and extremities by his son.

Records also confirm that Bradley Byrd, 30, died from “multiple blunt force injuries and stab wounds to the neck and torso.”

The two men were from Salem, Michigan, west of Detroit. They likely died within minutes of being injured, according to the coroner’s report.

Deaths were reported for the first time to stop officials Sunday afternoon, June 8, on a Lake Superior island off the northeastern corner of Minnesota. Rangers went to the site and confirmed the deaths the next day. But few details about this case have been published so far.

The men were found at South Lake Desor Campground, along the park’s main Greenstone Ridge Trail. It’s 11 miles from the nearest ranger station.

The national park includes the main island of Isle Royale — which is about 50 miles long and 9 miles wide — as well as dozens of smaller nearby islands. It can only be reached by boat or seaplane. The park has 165 miles of trails and 36 campsites. Some are located along the shore of Lake Superior and others along inland lakes or streams.