Authorities and residents in a secluded region of Manitoba are on a manhunt for a Norwegian hiker who has gone missing.
In the vast and unforgiving terrain of northern Manitoba, a search and rescue mission is underway for a missing Norwegian trekker, Steffen Skjottelvik. Skjottelvik, aged 69, set out on foot with his two dogs from Fort Severn, Ont., last month, with the aim of trekking from James Bay to Alaska.
However, Skjottelvik failed to arrive in York Factory, 850 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, on Friday. The trekker has since disappeared in the treacherous muskeg and swift moving rivers of the region. One of the rivers he had to cross was the Hayes River, one of the fastest moving rivers in Canada, which, as travelers approach York Factory, Hudson Bay impacts the river, resulting in a four-metre tide.
The best areas to walk in the region are the riverbanks due to the most stable soil; otherwise, it's boggy and waist-high marsh muskeg. Sgt. Paul Manaigre, who is leading the search, described the area as "completely unforgiving territory".
Locals are helping search the area by boat and plane due to the dangerous terrain. An officer searched the area using a drone on Monday in an attempt to find a heat source or evidence of animals congregating. However, RCMP have asked for assistance from other agencies but have been denied due to safety risks.
The organization currently involved in the search for the missing Skjottelvik is a search and rescue mission coordinated with fundraising efforts led by Chrissy Barbeau, supported by Skjottelvik's mother Gry. There is no specific official organization name mentioned in the available search results.
According to Sgt. Manaigre, there's a possibility that Skjottelvik may have entered a river to cross and been swept up in the water. One of Skjottelvik's dogs turned up in York Factory, while the whereabouts of the other are unknown.
This is not the first time a family in Manitoba has expressed decades-old pain due to landfill searches for a missing person. There's a renewed effort to launch a Canada-wide Silver Alert, a system that would help find missing seniors more quickly. As the search for Skjottelvik continues, the hope remains for the safe return of the missing 69-year-old man. Sgt. Manaigre expects searchers to have most of the terrain covered in the next couple of days.
