NNSL (Aug 27/99) - A 19-year-old man from Ancaster, Ontario is presumed drowned after not having been seen or heard from in over a month while kayaking on the Little Nahanni River.

William Frank Sommer departed alone from the abandoned Tungsten, NWT area where he was last seen on July 24. His intended route was from Flat Lake to the Little Nahanni River and into the South Nahanni River, travelling through Nahanni National Park. It was expected to take three weeks to complete the trip. Sommer was reported missing on Thursday, Aug. 19 when he had not made contact with his family as expected upon his arrival at his destination, the Fort Simpson RCMP were advised.

A search began immediately with the assistance of Parks Canada staff from Nahanni National Park. Using a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, searchers found Sommer's overturned kayak, life-jacket and other supplies about 16 kilometres from his point of departure, according to RCMP Cpl. Steve Corcoran. There have been no other signs of the missing person to date, Corcoran added.

The investigation continues. The search, however, has been suspended at this time with plans to scour the area again early next week by aircraft. The search area, approximately 320 kilometres west of Fort Simpson, along the NWT/Yukon border, is described as remote and mountainous with travel being very difficult.