Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 26/01) - A memorial service was held Tuesday afternoon for a hotel night clerk found dead on the job last week, while police quietly continued the investigation into what they now confirm was a homicide.

On the night Keith Blair was killed, he was working at the Mackenzie Hotel, where he had worked for the last seven or eight years. The 46-year-old was originally from Ottawa, and had been living in Inuvik for the last 10 years.

Police have so far released very little information about the circumstances of his death. What is known is that his body was discovered Oct. 17, shortly before 7 a.m., when the RCMP arrived on the scene. The body was sent to Edmonton for autopsy Thursday, and three days later, the report came back with news that Blair was likely killed.

People who knew Blair say he was a quiet, friendly man who suffered from a physical disability that made his movements awkward. He rarely spoke of his impairment and he was known to be a hard worker.

Over 100 people attended his memorial service held at the Lighthouse Community Pentecostal church in Inuvik. Brother-in-law Richard Binder gave the eulogy, speaking of a kind man who had many friends. "Keith was a good man," Blair said. "We shall miss him dearly."

Blair and his wife Ingrid Binder had only just celebrated their first wedding anniversary Sept. 12. The couple liked to go fishing together, and they sometimes played pool at the Royal Canadian Legion hall, where they were members. For most of the time that Blair lived in Inuvik, he stayed in a modest apartment above the Mad Trapper Pub.

Talk about Blair's death has been on the lips of almost everyone in town. With the police saying so little, rumours swirl in the information vacuum. Some say he was stabbed. Others say he was beaten during a robbery. Everyone has heard one theory or other, but no one, except the killer and perhaps the police, know the true story.

At the hotel where he worked, managers are not speaking with the media. Police lines were lifted Friday but the hotel bar, restaurant and nightclub all remained closed until this week. Staff were seen on the weekend removing carpet and furniture from the premises.

Police want to talk to anyone who may have been at the Mackenzie Hotel late Oct. 16 or early Oct. 17. They also want to interview a man and woman who were seen in the hotel lobby shortly after the bar closed at 2 a.m., Oct. 17.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Inuvik RCMP at 777-2935.