The Vuntut Gwitchin Government (VGG) is seeking help in locating elder Freddy Frost who has not been seen for several days.
According to a Facebook post on Oct. 15, Frost was last seen on Oct. 10 on his red quad towing a trailer and travelling west of the quarry area near the top of the road to Crow Mountain in Old Crow. The weather was clear at the time of the sighting, but fog rolled in soon after the sighting.
Frost was reported missing to the RCMP on Oct. 14.
The Facebook post said a search party of community members and volunteers came together to conduct a search around the site where Frost was last seen.
On Oct. 15, the VGG set up an emergency operations centre to coordinate and support the search. A team of 22 searchers were organized Oct. 16 to go over high potential areas around where Frost was last seen and where he may have travelled. The searchers were supported by a command centre at the quarry and at the operations centre at Darius Elias Community Hall.
Chief and council and RCMP called for support from Yukon Search and Rescue professionals and one additional RCMP officer arrived in Old Crow to support the search. However, due to bad weather, the search was called off.
A search and rescue helicopter, which arrived in Old Crow to help in the search, was unable to do a flyover due to low visibility and darkness.
“Searchers continued searching through town in the afternoon, including door knocking to look for Freddy and ask if anyone had seen any signs,” according to the post. “People are asked not to travel or hunt on Crow Mountain in order to support search efforts and to ensure everyone’s safety.”
VGG said it is providing search teams with anything they need, including gas, snow machines as needed, coordination and food.
The search continued on Oct. 16. RCMP said with improved weather conditions, a ground search using community volunteers, Yukon Search And Rescue volunteers and a helicopter is underway.
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com