Repulse Bay (July 31/06) - The search for the pilot of a downed Cessna 206 in the Kivalliq region has ended on a happy note.

The Cessna went missing last Wednesday, July 26, after the pilot left Rankin Inlet on his way to a mining camp near Hall Beach.

Search and rescue members found the plane north of Wager Bay on Thursday, 60 kilometres south of Repulse Bay. Worry ran high in the Kivalliq over the pilot's safety in that region, well known for its abundant wildlife.

The pilot was found at about 11 a.m. Friday morning, about eight kilometres from his plane.

The Cessna 206 was leased to Roche Bay Plc, an emerging iron-ore mining company that owns extensive leases at Roche Bay on the Melville Peninsula, one of the largest known magnetite iron ore bodies in the world.

The pilot left a note at the plane for rescue personnel and was in good health, with only a cut lip, when rescuers caught up with him sitting by a fire on his way to Repulse.

He was found by two search and rescue members who parachuted down to the crash site on Friday morning.