Bad Kivalliq blizzard triggers local searches

Bad weather in the Kivalliq region earlier this week led to two community search and rescue efforts in which one of two missing men turned up dead.

In Arviat, Cliff Shamee, 24, went missing Nov. 17 after he set out from his home on a snowmobile to make a short trip to a local store.

At the time, the community suffered from winds of 80 to 90 km/h , a -45 C windchill and zero visibility.

Local volunteers began a search that evening. At around 10:30 p.m., they found the snowmobile Shamee had used.

Though the young man was nowhere in sight, they followed tracks that led in an easterly direction.

At about 8:55 a.m. Nov. 18, searchers found Shamee’s body about four km southeast of Arviat.

Police say he was clad in “appropriate clothing” but died after succumbing to weather conditions.

Meanwhile, searchers from Chesterfield Inlet conducted a search that led to a much happier result, when an elderly man was found alive after going missing in a storm.

Louis Autut, 74, had left Chesterfield Inlet Nov. 17 to pick up a snowmobile at Qanak Lake, about eight km from the commuunity.

Autut’s companion, Joe Issaluk, became separated from Autut in the blizzard, but made it back to Chesterfield Inlet by himself.

Police say volunteers then set out on a “long, extensive and exhaustive search” that stretched into the following day.

At around 7:35 p.m. Nov. 18, searchers found Autut sitting upright not far from the community.

Police describe his condition as “cold and tired,” saying his feet suffered frostbite and that he was unable to walk.

After treatment at the local health centre, Autut was transported to the hospital in Rankin Inlet, where his condition is described as stable.