Search for missing Norman Wells man suspended due to cold weather

Cold weather has lead the Sahtu Search and Rescue Society to suspend its search for a missing 20-year-old man from Norman Wells, N.W.T.

Darren Whiteman's family last saw him at a cabin on Lennie Lake the night of Sept. 11. He was reported missing around noon the next day.

Whiteman is described as Indigenous, five feet nine inches tall, 120 lbs, with a slender build, brown eyes and black hair.

The society called off its search on Saturday after Lennie Lake began to freeze over.

"We can't search anymore anyway after that happens," said the society's president, Jamie Kearsey.

"We can't get the boats out on there ... and then we wouldn't have been able to get the float plane in."

RCMP in Norman Wells called off their search on Sept. 20.

Tough decision to make

Suspending the society's own search was a hard decision for everyone to make, said Kearsey. But she added Whiteman's family was ready for it to be over.

"Certainly nobody wants to leave it this way, but it is all we can do right now," she said.

Kearsey said this isn't the end of the road. For now, the search is suspended. But it's possible it could carry on over the winter once the lake is completely frozen, if that's something the family wants.

"Everybody … [was] willing to stay until they found him, but unfortunately Northern weather doesn't allow for that," Kearsey said.

Whiteman's missing person investigation remains open, RCMP said.