A month after RCMP and the local search and rescue stopped looking, a community led search in Baker Lake has located the body of Solomon Tulurialik.
The search for Tulurialik, 29, started on July 31 and stopped on Aug. 13 after police and volunteers failed to find him.
The community fundraised and brought in Crossman Consulting, an American sonar team.
On Sept 13, the second day of searching, the team found Tulurialik’s remains in 30 metres of water, and roughly 500 meters from shore.
Nunavut RCMP’s investigation led them to believe that Tulurialik had tried to swim to shore from a boat that had run out of gas.
Following the recovery, Nunavut’s coroner will now investigate the cause of death.
Tulurialik was a popular figure in the central Nunavut community of roughly 2,000 residents.
He coached local Midget age hockey, and many of his players wore their uniforms to his memorial service.
He also worked for Agnico Eagle Mines as a long haul truck driver and as a truck driver for Arctic Fuel.
Family say he was a gifted singer and musician.
The initial search involved 200 volunteers, 70 boats, 50 all-terrain vehicles, drone flights, boats with sonar and dragging teams.
In 2018, Tulurialik received an award for bravery from the Commissioner of Nunavut.
