Frame Lake body identified
Homicide ruled out, name withheld pending notification of family

Derek Neary
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 10/98) - The man whose skeletal remains were found on a Frame Lake island on the weekend likely died of accidental or natural causes, the RCMP reported Tuesday.

The dead man's identity was determined through an autopsy in Edmonton, but the individual's name had not been released as of press time. His teeth matched the dental records of a missing person, according to Staff Sgt. Dave Grundy.

The RCMP were trying to contact the man's next of kin, who are not from the Northwest Territories, Grundy said.

Because so little of the flesh remained on the skeleton, the cause of death, whether natural or not, will likely never be known, he added.

"All they can say is that no injuries caused his death. There were no knife wounds or bullet holes in him,"

Grundy said. "We've pretty much ruled out foul play."

A small amount of the limited tissue was extracted for toxicology tests, but police said they are unsure whether it will be enough to be conclusive.

The body was found by a pair of canoeists and their dog over the weekend. The man's body was face down, fully clothed, inland on the northernmost island in the lake, near the legislature building, according to Grundy.

"It wasn't hidden or anything like that," he said.

It isn't known how long the remains had been in that location, said Grundy. However, the man was wearing Sorel boots, a winter jacket and sweat pants, indicating it had been there at least a few months.

The police officers who examined the scene couldn't be sure of the gender or age range of the deceased by visual identification, noted Grundy.