Steffen Skjottelvik, 29, left Fort Severn, Ont., on foot on July 25 with his two dogs and the intention to arrive in York Factory, Man., on Aug. 15 — a distance of more than 300 kilometres as the crow flies.
“Contact was made with him on Aug. 13 when he arrived at Nanuk camp [about 40 km east of York Factory] where he stated he had lost one of his dogs along the journey. On Aug. 14, he made contact with York Factory stating his expected time of arrival there would be on the 15th,” RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said in an email to CBC News on Monday.
“One of the dogs, belonging to the missing traveller, made it to York Factory but another dog had been lost earlier in his trek due to a wolf attack.”
However, on Skjottelvik’s Facebook page, a woman from Fort Severn has posted images of a skinny Husky that wandered into the community on Monday. People there believe it’s the one Skjottelvik thought had been killed.
As a SAR volunteer, this looks grim.
Someone unprepared enough will stop when they’re able to contact the “outside world”, but when stubbornness or foolishness pushes them onward after big hints like this, it often ends badly.