A Gjoa Haven grandfather, his grandson and his son-in-law were located by a searcher on snowmobile around 10 p.m on Wednesday night, bringing a relieving end to a search mission that spanned three days.
photo courtesy of Bobby Ukaliq
“It was joyful, almost exhilaration to hear that they were OK. That was the best part,” said James Qitsualik, a member of the community’s search and rescue committee. “We’ve been praying a lot and its seems our prayers are answered.”
The missing individuals were spotted approximately 55 km to the east of Gjoa Haven. They hadn’t returned Sunday night following a weekend seal derby.
The weekend weather was “horrible” with poor visibility, making it easy to get disoriented, said Qitsualik.
He added that more than 20 community members had been patrolling on snowmobile, trying to find the missing residents. A helicopter also arrived on Wednesday to assist in the search.