Nunavut fugitive surrenders; RCMP say “cool heads prevail”

Cape Dorset’s David Mikkigak, 37, has surrendered to police after being on the run from the RCMP for more than two months. (FILE PHOTO)

David Mikkigak, who has been wanted by police and has been hiding out in a cabin outside of Cape Dorset for more than two months, has surrendered to police.

The Nunavut RCMP issued a news release just after 2 p.m. Sept. 22 to say that Mikkigak, 37, is now in custody and that he “surrendered peacefully” at his cabin.

The mid-afternoon release came just an hour after a previous release from the Nunavut RCMP saying that they were in “direct communication” with Mikkigak at the cabin thanks to an operation by the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team.

Two women who were staying with Mikkigak surrendered earlier in the day, police said, and remain in RCMP custody in Cape Dorset. Both women have had access to medical care, the RCMP said.

“We are extremely fortunate that this ended the way it did,” the RCMP said in the release announcing Mikkigak’s surrender. “Every effort was made to resolve this peacefully and in the end ‘cool heads prevail’.”

According to that release, police said they were aided in their operation by a Transport Canada Dash 7 “special surveillance aircraft” which “provided direct intelligence to RCMP members on the ground.”

The police operation comes after Mikkigak made a phone call to CBC North from a satellite phone earlier this week. He told the public broadcaster he was “afraid” and faces “false allegations.”

Mikkigak is wanted for a number of criminal offences dating back to June including assault, forcible confinement and firearms related offences.

But he has evaded police since early July by hiding in a cabin outside the Baffin community.

The RCMP did not reach out for the public’s help in finding the fugitive until mid-August, when Mikkigak is alleged to have fired gunshots at passing boaters.