Intoxicated boater drifts out on lake
James Goldie
Northern News Services
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
RCMP officers were called to Dettah over the weekend when an intoxicated man boarded a small aluminum boat and drifted onto Great Slave Lake.
The incident occurred at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning. Witnesses soon lost sight of the vessel and became increasingly concerned when the man could no longer be heard calling for help. He had no life jacket and no oars to paddle back to shore.
RCMP officers and one Dettah resident went out onto the water using a community member's boat. The vessel was found two hours later - its passenger lying passed out in the bottom of the boat - next to a small island.
In a news release, RCMP credited the quick action of officers and community members in locating the man.
"Considering the falling temperatures; dark, cold water; lack of life a jacket, and intoxication of the male, these circumstances could have easily resulted in tragedy," the announcement states.
The man did not require medical attention and no charges will be laid.
Pot stashed in cereal box
A number of police seizures have turned up several shipments of contraband - some of it stashed in unusual packages.
On Friday, RCMP uncovered 181 grams of marijuana hidden inside a box of Shredded Wheat. The drugs - discovered at an unnamed airline hangar - were destined for Lutsel K'e.
Yesterday, police reported seizing two 2.63 litre juice jugs Monday filled with vodka also destined for Lutsel K'e, where alcohol is prohibited.
"It just goes to show you that people do try to be creative. As many things as you can imagine someone trying to in order to smuggle their liquor or drugs they do it," said Const. Elenore Sturko.
She also cited an incident last month in which alcohol was stashed inside a soap box heading to Behchoko, another prohibition community.
"If you can imagine it, it's probably happened," she said.
The same day as the Shredded Wheat discovery, officers returned to the same location and seized a "suspicious package" which contained six bottles of vodka headed for Gameti, where alcohol is also prohibited. Sturko said she could not disclose details about how the RCMP were tipped off to the illegal packages.In a news release issued Friday, RCMP stated that over the past two weeks RCMP also seized eight bottles of vodka and 12 cans of beer under similar circumstances, destined for communities where alcohol is prohibited.
The drug and alcohol seizures over the past week are still under investigation. No charges have been laid.
Air gun scare
No charges will be laid in the case of a man cycling with what appeared to be a very real rifle in one hand.
On Saturday, police responded to a call from a concerned resident who saw a man riding a bicycle toward Kam Lake and carrying what turned out to be a Beeman 1040 Series air rifle. The call triggered a "high risk response" from officers on duty despite the air rifle's limited fire power.
"When we are dealing with a potential for confrontation with firearms then we'll have a response of officers having their firearms usually drawn and ready in case of an escalation in the situation," said RCMP spokesperson Elenore Sturko.
According to Sturko, the suspect was co-operative when officers gave him commands to put his weapon on the ground. The individual was intoxicated and told officers he was on his way to go bird hunting.
"It's not the same as carrying a shotgun or whatever but really (air rifles) can do significant damage and they can pose a risk to the public, so people need to transport them safely," said Sturko. The man was arrested for mischief but later released without charge.
