Searchers look for three missing Igloolik men

Three people from Igloolik who did not return from a fishing trip are now considered missing.

The three land travellers — two young men in their early 20s and one elder — have been overdue for close to two days, said Igloolik’s senior administrative officer, Bryan Fleming.

Igloolik search and rescue crews were deployed in the early evening of Jan. 13 after the three did not return as planned.

Searchers have so far found medication on the land that belongs to the missing elder.

“The main concern is one of the individuals is elderly and on medication, of which they found on the land,” said RCMP Sgt. Yvonne Niego.

“Our involvement is very minor at the moment until there’s more information,” Niego said.

Fleming and Niego are unsure of when the three men left Igloolik on their fishing trip.

Three search and rescue crews have been deployed since Jan. 13, with a total of 10 searchers looking for the missing men. The last search and rescue group left Igloolik at 6:30 a.m. Jan. 14.

Fleming said they might have an idea of where the fishers went.

“We have a rough, rough idea. It’s kind of north Foxe Basin,” Fleming said.

There will “absolutely” be more searches Jan. 14 if the three are not found soon, Fleming said.

Fleming said the elder is fairly experienced in hunting trips. There has been no adverse weather for the last couple of days, he said, but Igloolik has less than two hours of sunlight per day at this time of year, which makes searching difficult.

“It could be mechanical, it’s really hard to say right now. I do know there’s some areas out there that [have] very, very rough ice,” Fleming said.

The hunters have one skidoo and one kamotik with them, Fleming said. He also said the hunters are “pretty good with supplies” meaning lots of food and camping gear.

“Best case scenario, we’ll find them,” Fleming said. “Our search is in progress right now.”