P.E.I. man who went missing on snowmobile trip in New Brunswick found dead

A 37-year-old man from York, P.E.I., who was reported missing Monday while on a solo snowmobile trip in New Brunswick has been found dead, according to the RCMP.

Kirk Beaton was last seen at approximately 6 p.m. on Jan. 12 at a camp near Island Lake Club in Balmoral Parish, N.B., according to the RCMP in Campbellton, N.B. He was reported missing to police on Jan. 13.

Sgt. François Côté, the operations commanding officer for the RCMP's Campbellton detachment, said Beaton was found by a commercial truck driver in a remote area without cell service early Tuesday morning.

"A transport truck was travelling on Route 180, and during his travel he spotted a snowmobile that was in the ditch, so he stopped and found a male unconscious near the snowmobile. So he got back in his truck and travelled as far as he could to get radio or cellular signal, and then we got the call," Côté told CBC News.

Beaton was located just off a groomed snowmobile trail where it intersects with Route 180 in the South Tetagouche area, near Bathurst in northern New Brunswick. 

RCMP said he was deceased when first responders arrived. The truck driver who first spotted Beaton's prone body did not check for vital signs.

Police said Beaton appears to have lost control of his snowmobile and collided with trees.

Dozens joined the search

Côté said a search and rescue team and volunteers, including people from P.E.I. who travelled to the area after reading about the news online, searched more than 100 km of trails in an effort to locate Beaton. He said at least 20-25 people were involved in the search.

A friend of Beaton's family told CBC News there were even more than that, including at least twice that many who  travelled from P.E.I. to be part of search along with snowmobiliers from New Brunswick.

"I'm actually surprised at the response that we got," said Côté, referring to the response to RCMP's missing person notice on social media. 

"It can be hard to find people to go out on these trails but the people that were here decided to participate and go out, so hats off to them to help us out and try locating that missing person."

On his Facebook page there are tributes to Beaton from friends praising his sunny disposition and his passion for motorsports, including snowmobiling, motorcycling and stock car racing.