Amanda Vaughan
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The families of 15-year-old Randy Leisk Jr. and 18-year-old Mike Luzny are pleading for help in searching for the pair even though RCMP say there's no evidence the boys are still on the surface of the water or on land.

The two Yellowknife teenagers have been missing since sometime last Thursday afternoon, after their boat ran out of gas and they attempted to swim to land. They were among a group of people staying at Old Fort Rae and had gone back to Behchoko (Rae) for supplies.

A third youth, identified in media reports as Nazon Goulet, remained in the boat. He drifted to land at North Arm Park and came to Yellowknife. Police said they received a missing persons report for Luzny and Leisk at 5 p.m. Friday.

After their 18-20 foot aluminum boat ran out of fuel, police said the trio had drifted to an island in the North Arm where they camped overnight July 4.

They tried to paddle back to land the next day. Police said Luzny and Leisk tried to swim to shore when they thought they spotted land. It's believed they were several kilometres from the shore at the time.

Police and the coast guard searched the North Arm all weekend, calling off the official effort Monday afternoon.

The RCMP said the decision to end the search came after consultation with all agencies involved, including community elders participating in the search and the young men's families.

Despite the RCMP decision, families continue to have hope the two will be found.

Katrina Stiopu and Tanya Nowdlak, who described themselves as extended family and friends of the two teens, put up posters around the city Tuesday, asking for help from anyone with a boat or vehicle who could take part in a search.

"They haven't found a body, or a lifejacket or anything," Stiopu e said, referring to the RCMP search. Police reports state that Luzny and Leisk donned PFDs before getting out of the boat to swim.

Stiopu and Nowdlak are in contact with the Leisk family and indicated that they are very frustrated with the RCMP calling off the search, saying that it started on Saturday morning and didn't even last three days.

"If it were an MLA's son, they'd still be out there," said Nowdlak.

On Monday afternoon near the Frank Channel, Luzny's uncle Darrin Ouellette said that his family was "trying to stay hopeful."

Ouellette and other members of Luzny's family were preparing to camp out at North Arm Park.

According to Behchoko RCMP Sgt. Francis Cullen, the teens were helping to fix up the Sacred Fire Healing Camp at Old Fort Rae with the direction of Grant and Bertha Blondin, the camp's operators.

Cullen confirmed the three made it to Behchoko and had returned to Old Fort Rae with supplies only to leave again. Stiopu and Nowdlak said they heard the teens were headed back to Behchoko to get fuel for the boat when they ran out of gas.

- with files from Guy Quenneville