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Kimmirut mayor's body found: CBC Casey Lessard Northern News Services Published Monday, July 2, 2012
The 67-year-old failed to return from a hunting trip northwest of the hamlet Nov. 26, and a four-week ground and air search involving more than 40 searchers from Kimmirut, Iqaluit, and Pangnirtung, was scaled back to a community search Dec. 21. Fellow caribou hunters last saw Kootoo Nov. 26. They told searchers he had not found any caribou so continued on his snowmobile alone. Winter weather frequently hampered attempts to find the mayor, and the search resumed in the spring. Kootoo, a Canadian Ranger sergeant with years of experience on the land, had survived a previous incident that required a rescue operation. Leading a team of Rangers during a dog sled race in 2008, months after he became mayor, Kootoo went ahead of the group and lost control of his snowmobile after cresting a ridge. He crashed the sled and broke his pelvis, and was found three days later huddling under snow. That incident affected his mobility and strength, RCMP Sgt. Jimmy Akavak said in December. The mayor also had a heart condition. No one from the RCMP or the hamlet could be reached for comment before the press deadline.
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