Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 02/04) - When police spotted the top of a snowmobile seat poking out of a section of open water on Jackfish Lake Sunday afternoon, they immediately feared the worst.

"We were worried that an individual might have gone through the ice," said RCMP Insp. Paul Richards on Monday.

RCMP officers and members of the Yellowknife Fire Department couldn't get near the scene, so Arctic Divers Ltd. was called in to comb the frigid waters near the Jackfish power plant.

After examining the scene, the divers determined that no one was on the snowmobile when it plunged into an opening in the ice.

They did find the machine's throttle taped in the "open" position. An investigation later revealed the snowmobile had been stolen, leading police to assume the culprits turned it on and sent it off in the direction of open water.

"It may have been an easy way to get rid of stolen merchandise," said Richards.

With the help of a crane supplied by the NWT Power Corporation, police were eventually able to lift the snowmobile out of the water.

A detective is trying to locate the machine's owner, but police don't have any leads in the case, said Richards.

He asked anyone with knowledge of the theft to contact the Yellowknife Detachment.