Search ends for man missing after snowmobile accident near Kangiqsujuaq
The search has ended for a man reported missing near Kangiqsujuaq after a snowmobile accident on sea ice earlier this month.
The man, 41-year-old Timothy Etidloie, was travelling outside the community with Louisa Pilurtuut, 31, on June 8 when the pair are believed to have driven into a large crack in the ice.
Pilurtuut’s body was found June 10 when another hunter happened upon the pair’s belongings floating in the water exposed by a six-metre-wide crack in the ice.
After days of searching, Etidloie is believed to be dead, said Nunavik Police Service deputy Chief Jean-François Morin in an email to Nunatsiaq News. Etidloie’s body is believed to have drifted out to sea.
“Searches from the local team have stopped at this point as the ice conditions have deteriorated, and the search area is now too large,” Morin said.
The search team used various methods in an effort to find Etidloie’s body, including scuba divers, underwater drones, and trolling with a boat and anchored hook.
They did find the pair’s snowmobile in water that was about 60 metres deep.
Tributes have been pouring in for the pair on local social media pages, which indicated funerals were held Wednesday.
Cedric Gallant, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Nunatsiaq News
