Has anyone been following this story in northern Labrador?

A 14-year old Inuit (Canadian Eskimo) boy was found dead last Wednesday, 3 days after he failed to return home from his grandmother's house. He was travelling alone on a snowmobile.

He left his grandmother's house after dropping off a cousin on Sunday and was reported missing Sunday evening.

On Monday, searchers followed the tracks of his snowmobile to a stretch of open water; it appeared he had gone through the ice. Two civilian helicopters joined the search. There appear to be conflicting reports about what the weather was in the area, but given that his tracks hadn't been covered, the weather was probably good.

On Tuesday, searchers located his abandoned snowmobile, and realized the hole in the ice must have opened up after he passed that point.

They followed his tracks from the snowmobile and found his body on Wednesday; he had walked 19 km following the shoreline (approximately 11 miles?).

Now, politicians and the boy's family are criticizing the military SAR response, saying that they should have sent in a Cormorant helicopter (which may or may not be equipped with infrared scanning equipment, depending on who you listen to). Predictably, no one wants to acknowledge that he would probably be alive if he had simply dug a snow cave and waited for the searchers to find him. Instead, his family and neighbours are praising him for his "courage" and "determination", walking 11 miles.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundla...ticism-206.html

Other information: overnight temperatures on Sunday night (the night he was reported missing) "The overnight temperature in the area was -13 C (about +9 F), with the wind chill making it feel twice as cold (about -15 F)."

Makkovik airport is located at 55°04′38″N 059°11′15″W, so it's below the arctic circle, but the hours of daylight are probably short this time of year.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for the link. This is the first I have heard of it. It seems the story has been buried in regional news.

A sad story. Especially since it seemed preventable, certainly by better survival equipment and possibly by a faster SAR response. My condolences to the family.

However, I'm not sure the criticisms regarding the military SAR response are valid. As I understand it, a search of this kind is under the command of civilian authorities (provincial police) and the military plays a supporting role when asked and where needed.

(A note to readers outside Canada: some of the comments in the story surround a hot political football on our East Coast. The military SAR dispatch centre was recently moved to a neighbouring province to cut costs, and the people and politicians in Newfoundland/Labrador are up in arms about it.)

Different culture, but...My 14 year old can't drive.

According to provincial law for Newfoundland and Labrador, a 14-year old can drive a snowmobile but only if being directly supervised by an adult. It appears that in remote communities, however, this is commonly ignored, and snowmobiles are regarded more the way we regard bicycles - an essential means of transportation for the young.

My concern is that the parents, community leaders, some opposition politicians and many members of the general public are resisting any calls to crack down on teenagers being allowed to travel alone on snowmobiles through uninhabited terrain without adequate survival gear and training; instead, they are focusing on the fact that the military didn't immediately respond by sending a SAR helicopter from Goose Bay or Gander (the nearest military SAR bases).

People in grief will often deal out harsh judgement. Sometimes justified, sometimes not. Hard to tell which is which when evaluating through the news.

Snowmobiles and the ease of transport can be lethal when coupled with a limited understanding of the environment and what bad winter weather actually requires in terms of gear and skills. Even for the locals, that knowledge flies out the window when it's just a short fun ride to watch the sunset or whatever. It's only 10 minutes, right? You get pretty far in 10 minutes on a snow mobile.

Last winter three out of nine kids died in Northern part of Norway - just taking a short "fun ride" and being caught unprepared by REALLY bad weather. Six of them were saved due to a tremendous effort of SAR, using every available resource and bending and breaking safety rules to get the rescue helicopter flying. (Sometimes it is good to have a military SAR capacity - there is absolutely no way a civilian heli crew could get a way with that kind of violations). Some parents of the dead think their kids could have been saved if they only had been permitted to join the search party sooner. Maybe, maybe not - no one will know for sure.

+1 to that

Looking ahead, I would wonder why a snowmobile tooling around in the winter would not have a fairly substantial survival kit. While space is somewhat limited on a snowmobile, surely there is room for enough to ensure that an unexpected night out would be more or less routine;to say nothing of a PLB and other nice things. Hopefully people will eventually move away from the blame game and think of lessons to be learned.

I should confess that I have absolutely no first hand experience with a snowmobile they aren't used very often in the southern Arizona desert.

That about sums it up. The politicians, only for their perceived personal gain. The family, usually out of misplaced emotions due to grief, but sometimes for money.

Sad situation.

That storage compartment is usually quite small, but you could squeeze in, say, an AMK survival shelter and some other goodies. Many snow mobiles will have a luggage rack, but those used for joy rides typically won't have them.

In my opinion, survival in winter typically requires gear with bulk about the size of a day pack. (Shelter, showel, extra clothes, some way to melt snow, preferably some ground sheet). With a little ingenuity, that bulk can be distributed all over the snowmobile - but you have to be willing to modify it. Such as making additional anchor points and tie-downs here and there.

A sad story. I don't know the details but it's unfair to let your 14 year old tool around on a sled unsupervised, then criticize SAR for not saving his life. If you're an adult you're responsible for yourself first, and the parents of course are responsible for their children. People have to understand that that SAR isn't a magic wand capable of instantly plucking you out of the "stuff." It's dangerous work, and success is never guaranteed. All too often the rescuers perish trying to aid others.

I have owned three snowmobiles over the years, and have logged thousands of miles in northern MN, WI, and MI with them. On a long weekend day in good snow conditions, I would travel 200 miles on wilderness trails.

There are multiple stock carry options for emergency gear; a small trunk about the size of a big shoebox, and a container under the hood for tools and spare parts. You can also purchase various metal racks and canvas 'saddlebags', a snowmobile axe rack, plastic rescue snowshoes, and even a trailer (which I had for ice fishing gear).

Even in my more reckless pre-prepper days, I always had tools, spare parts (lightbulbs, spark plugs, drive belt), a hatchet, whistle, Leatherman Super Tool, fire making supplies, rope, energy food, bandana, sierra cup, Mini-Mag light, maps, a heavy hat (so I wouldn't have to wear my helmet for warmth if stuck in the woods overnight), and a compass mounted to the cowl.

Over the years, I used all of it.

I too, have seen young kids out driving snowmobiles in the hinterlands. I think it is OK with proper training and with established boundaries, emergency equipment and provisions and the training to use them.