Missing boy’s body found

MIRIAM HILL

IQALUIT — After a massive search of Iqaluit Tuesday, the body of 10-year-old Gerry Qiyutaq was found in a lake where the boy was playing Sunday afternoon.

Sgt. Michael O’Malley of the Iqaluit RCMP confirmed that Qiyutaq’s body was found Tuesday evening in the first small lake just off the Road to Nowhere. The lake is about five metres deep and 100 metres in diametre.

The boy was reported missing late Monday afternoon.

O’Malley said the death was an accidental drowning. The coroner has ordered an autopsy because no one actually saw the boy drown.

Gerry is the son of Elisapee Qiyutaq and Peter Akavak.

On Sunday afternoon, Qiyutaq had been part of a group of friends playing in the lake. The children evidently lost track of him as the evening progressed.

“We started talking to his friends, because usually in these instances it’s not uncommon for kids to be gone overnight and end up staying at a friend’s place,” O’Malley said.

“In this instance we realized once we started that no one had seen him after the lake.”

Local divers were called in late Monday evening. They scoured the lake Tuesday, but didn’t complete the search.

O’Malley said children swimming on Tuesday evening saw something in the water and called police. RCMP and emergency services members retrieved the body at about 8 p.m.

Though Qiyutaq was unsupervised at the time of his death, O’Malley said the parents aren’t to blame.

“Parents can only do so much,” he said. “You can’t keep your eyes on your kids 24-7. It’s just impossible.”

But he said residents should keep an eye out for kids playing in dangerous situations.

“Adults… have an obligation to go and say as an adult, ‘You kids shouldn’t be doing that, go away from there.’”