NNSL (Mar 25/98) - Philip Kringayark will likely never again leave his snowmachine after running out of gas in the middle of nowhere.

The Repulse Bay man was lost for four days last week after his snowmachine didn't make it all the way to Pelly Bay, where he was going to visit friends. He left the community Sunday, March 15, and ran into trouble two days later. He decided he would walk to get help.

Kringayark, 36, was found on Friday night about 130 kilometres south of Pelly Bay. He had been walking for four days without food.

His snowmachine and komatik -- loaded with supplies -- had been found two days earlier, more than 70 kilometres from where he was located.

RCMP Const. Gary Peck of the Pelly Bay detachment said Charles Niptayok found Kringayark walking in the wrong direction. By then, he was ready to abandon hopes of a rescue.

"He had almost given up hope, I guess, when he saw the police plane Friday night ... he couldn't get up," he said. "The police plane got his hopes up and when he saw the lights of a snowmachine he tried to chase it down. Unfortunately, he had been walking toward Baker Lake."

He was found with only frostbite on his hands. Eight Pelly Bay residents and five air searchers were looking for Kringayark since Tuesday. Fifteen snowmachines were also on their way to Pelly Bay from Repulse Bay on Friday, when he was found. "But it was never officially reported (to us) -- I found out over coffee with a friend," said Peck.

Residents of Pelly Bay pitched in for the search effort.

"It was a huge community effort with the women cooking ... everyone pulled together," he said. "And we've got lost of calls from Repulse Bay thanking us." Peck said Kringayark is lucky to be alive after four days in the cold without shelter.

"We had nights of -34 degrees Celsius with no water and no food for four days," he said.

Kringayark probably wishes he had stayed with his machine and been rescued three days earlier, a lesson that all hunters can pay attention to, according to Peck.

"If you're not sure where you are, stay with your supplies," he said. "That's what they preach here in Pelly Bay." Kringayark returned home by plane to Repulse Bay on Monday after the residents of Pelly Bay celebrated his survival with a community feast on Saturday night.