Mysterious tent baffles RCMP in Beaver Creek, Yukon

A tent abandoned in the bush north of Burwash Landing is still a mystery.

Three weeks ago, a miner reported to police what appeared to be an abandoned campsite, about 20 kilometres west of the Alaska Highway. The camp included a tent, sleeping bag, jacket, some food and two bottles of wine. 

"We have no idea if they've worked their way through and come out to the highway and got a ride. That's a possibility," said Cpl. Kim McKellar, of the Beaver Creek RCMP detachment. "A wild animal encounter is another possibility, just being lost, injured is another possibility, there's several scenarios that we can go through, but we don't know."

RCMP officers have conducted numerous searches by air, foot, ATV, and with a canine unit.

McKellar says there's still no way of knowing if someone is missing, who the tent belongs to or why it was left in the back country. He says, for now, the file remains open.

"We're not finished, there's still a few more avenues that we're going to be pursuing," he said. "[W]hen there is nothing left to search for then there's a possibility that we'll shut it down, but for the time being, right now, we're still looking at it."

McKellar says there have been no reports of a missing person.