The backpack of a Norwegian hiker has been found near a river that moves quickly in a remote coastal area of Northern Manitoba that houses polar bears and wolves.
The Canadian Police have notified the family of Steffen Skjottelvik, 29, that his bag was recovered near the Hayes River, where the crews have focused the search efforts in recent days, the same area where the GPS coordinates placed the 29 -year -old missing.
“The family was informed about this backpack that is found, and the consequence is that the search and rescue will increase in number and effort,” said Christian Dyresen, a family spokesman, CBC News from Norway on Thursday afternoon.
“The family will continue working to raise funds [for] More ships and helicopters and more crew on the grounds “.
Skjottelvik was last heard of a week ago, on August 14. He registered to say that he planned to get to York Factory, Man., The next day, although he never arrived.
A volunteer team from Fort Severn First Nation in northern Ontario directed efforts on the ground for almost three days from Sunday. They were forced to withdraw due to the assembly of helicopter rental costs, which reached the range of $ 70,000 for those first days.
Fort Severn chief Matthew Kakekaspan said that three search engines headed with a helicopter pilot on Thursday morning after obtaining more funds through donations.
Skjottelvik spent time with one of the men in that team and designated him as an emergency contact in the days before he was on foot from Fort Severn on July 25, the boss said. I hoped to reach York Factory, 300 kilometers away, before August 15.
“It is quite emotional for the group that carries out the work,” Kakekaspan told CBC News on Thursday afternoon from Sioux Lookout First Nation.
Kakekaspan said the group is pleased to return thanks to public donations that help the first nation to recover some helicopter rental costs. They hope to raise $ 100,000 so they can continue looking for another four days.
There are several collectors of Canadian and Norwegian funds. Dyresen said that two fund collectors in Norway have raised almost $ 1 million of Norwegian Kroner, which is approximately $ 134,000 CDN.
An RCMP officer arrived in York Factory on Monday and flew a drone of thermal images near where Skjottelvik was last near the Hayes River. In later days, RCMP obtained GPS data that put it near Los Hayes on Thursday afternoon last week.
An RCMP spokesman said Wednesday night that the police force was working on sending some more officers to search the Hayes River area, to complement Manitoba’s conservation efforts and volunteers from Gillam, Man., And Fort Severn knows the area.
The area between Fort Severn and York Factor is treacherous, which consists of soaked lands of mob Muskeg that house polar and wolves.
In the days before the disappearance, RCMP says that Skjottelvik suggested that he lost one of his two dogs in a wolf attack. Someone from Fort Severn published an image on Facebook of a Gauunt Husky who resembles one of Skjottelvik’s dogs, saying he went to the community on Monday.
Police and family have described Skjottelvik as a desert traveler experienced in Norway who had been planning a walk from James Bay to Alaska for years.
He has been documenting his trip on a Facebook account called the great Canadian trip of Steffen.
Dyresen said that the family and a variety of other public members are doing what they can to raise awareness and funds to reinforce search efforts in the next few days.
“The main approach of the family at this time is to make sure that the Canadian police and officials are doing what they can … and volunteers to make sure they have so many people looking for Steffen,” he said.
