Canadian Rangers say civilian volunteer presumed dead in Ontario

A civilian volunteer who was accompanying a Canadian Ranger search party in northern Ontario is presumed dead after disappearing in blizzard conditions, the Ontario Ranger group says.

The missing man is Albert Boyce, 47. 

He was returning to the remote Ojibwa community of Eabametoong, also known as Fort Hope, about 300 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay.

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"This is the first time we've lost anyone in a Canadian Ranger search," Capt. Mark Rittwage, the officer commanding the Canadian Rangers in Ontario, said in a statement. "This civilian volunteer lost his life serving his community."

Sgt. Peter Moon, spokesman for 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group at Canadian Forces Base Borden, said the Ontario Provincial Police will begin a search for Boyce's body when the weather improves.

"He is presumed to have drowned after tracks believed to be made by his snowmobile were found near a hole in river ice," Moon said in a news release.  

An empty Jerry can was floating in the water.

The tracks were found within about an hour's snowmobile drive away from the First Nations community.

Eabametoong and the Rangers are devastated by the loss.

"Albert Boyce was an experienced outdoorsman," said Moon.

"He was well prepared. He had emergency supplies with him so it really is a terribly tragedy for the community and the Canadian Rangers are devastated of course that somebody who helped them in this emergency, lost his life, " he said.

Initial search successful

Rangers had been searching for a 75-year-old man who went through river ice while travelling by snowmobile. He managed to get to shore, build a fire and make a phone call for help.

Three Rangers and Boyce went out for what Rittwage called a routine rescue.

After locating the missing man, the group was returning when Boyce "either became separated from the Rangers in the blowing snow or his machine broke down," Rittwage said.

The visibility was poor at the time in blowing snow.

The Rangers refueled their snowmobiles and went back to look for Mr. Boyce, only to find what appeared to be his snowmobile tracks leading to a hole in the ice.

Rittwage praised the Rangers' search.

"It goes without saying that the level of dedication of the Rangers to go out in weather conditions like this, to put their lives at risk to help a fellow community member is outstanding," he said. "They are courageous in situations like this. When someone in their community needs assistance they go and they do a professional job."

The death comes amid news that 49 Canadian Rangers and Junior Rangers serving in Canada's Arctic have died since January 2011, according to numbers released by the Department of Defence. 

One of those deaths was service-related, while the rest can be attributed "to health and hazard issues common in the larger population of the communities in which they live — such as accidents like drowning and health-related causes like heart disease and diabetes," the department said in a statement.