A BoB short:
The body of Jamesie Kootoo, the mayor of Kimmirut, Nunavut, has been found 50 kms outside his community. Kootoo, 67, had been missing since Nov. 26th after he left on a caribou hunt and never returned.
The town launched an intensive air and ground search shortly after the mayor’s disappearance. Local volunteers, as well as the RCMP and the Iqaluit Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, searched the area for weeks but the search was eventually called off until Spring due to poor weather conditions.
This was not the first time that Kootoo had gone missing. In 2008, he disappeared for three days after a snowmobile accident. Kootoo suffered a broken pelvis but was able to shelter himself from arctic winds until search and rescue arrived.
RCMP believed that this time he was not carrying survival gear as his hunt was planned as a day trip. However, Kootoo was a skilled hunter with a lifetime of experience.
he was both the mayor and coroner of his small village of about 400 people.
– Emily Olesen
