Body located

Page 6

The body of 59-year-old Napoleon Wanderingspirit was pulled out of Lake Athabasca on May 11 by members of his family, 12 days after he had gone missing.

Wanderingspirit's remains were located about 300 metres from shore, said the deceased's cousin, Stanley Wigmore. Family members used boats, nets and hooks in the search effort.

Fort Chipewyan RCMP had called in an Edmonton-based dive team, Northern Underwater Systems, to search the lake for the body. The dive team was unsuccessful, ending their search after three days citing safety concerns.

Constable Nick Jakovljevic said the RCMP continued their search for the body.

"We went on the shore and we were looking from shore," said Jakovljevic. "What we did we wanted to do safely until the ice was off the lake, and then we could properly use our boats and go from there. The big thing is we didn't want to risk anybody else. We didn't want to risk anybody else's life. A second drowning wouldn't have improved the situation at all."