UPDATE: Missing Yellowknife Boaters Located in Safe Condition

The Yellowknife RCMP are currently conducting a search for two local men who have gone missing after a recreational boating trip.

The report first came in on October 12th, when the families of 65-year-old Samuel Roberts and 51-year-old Mark Elson told the police that the two men had not returned after their planned trip out on the Great Slave Lake, near the commercial fishing area near Post Island. The men were expected to return later that evening.

A vessel from the Canadian Coast Guard was dispatched early in the morning on Friday to find them, but heavy fog conditions hindered their efforts. Later on the 13^th, CASARA and the Canadian Coast Guard launched additional search efforts. The men or the boat that they were travelling in have not been located despite an extensive search by air and water.

Family and friends close to Roberts and Elson have suggested that the men may have tried to go to a cabin near the “Old Mink Farm” but no trace of them has been located. Arial searches are being conducted over the weekend, and updates will come as time progresses.

Anyone who may be on the water in these areas over the weekend, is asked to report any sightings of the boat or any trace of the missing men to the Yellowknife RCMP.

UPDATE:

Air operations were undertaken by CASARA throughout the day with negative result. CASARA aircraft patrolled over West Mirage Islands, the eastern shore from Dettah to East Arm and on the western shore from Yellowknife to Trout Rock.

The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary went to the Mirage Islands and conducted a more thorough search of the area. There has been no sign of the missing men to date.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton has been engaged and is dispatching a Hercules aircraft to assist with the search. This aircraft will allow a search of a larger area. Additional search operations will continue into tomorrow.

UPDATE #2: Samuel Roberts and Mark Elson have been found. The Canadian Coast Guard is en route to retrieve them. 

A CASARA flight located the two men on shore and were able to relay their location to Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC). A JRCC plane was able to drop a communication device to the two men and confirmed that they are both alive and doing ok under the circumstances. A CCGA boat is en route to pick up them and reunite them with their families. It is expected that they will be back in Yellowknife in a few hours.

The RCMP would like to thank the volunteers from CASARA and CCGA for their dedication and tireless efforts during search operations.