Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Oct 22/01) - Police are investigating the suspicious death of a hotel night clerk found dead on the job early Wednesday morning.

RCMP Cpl. Mike Beaudoin of the major crimes unit in Yellowknife was taking sketches outside the Mackenzie Hotel Thursday afternoon. - Lynn Lau/NNSL photo

The lobby, lounge, bar and restaurant of the Mackenzie Hotel were sealed, and a sign on the front door advised those with reservations to check into Inuvik's other inns. The hotel is on Inuvik's main strip, a stone's throw from the RCMP detachment.

Police were saying very little about the investigation as of late last week. Staff Sgt. Mark Wharton said the call was received around 8 a.m. Wednesday morning and that the incident may have happened at any time between midnight and 7 a.m.

Guests who were already checked in were allowed to stay, but they had to use the fire exit to access their suites. "It's eerie that something like that could take place here," said John Smith, in town from Fort McPherson last week. "It's something that you don't expect in the communities."

Police interviewed the guests and were collecting evidence from the site all Wednesday and Thursday. The lobby re-opened Friday, but the bar and restaurant remained closed. Wharton said most of the detachment's 14 officers are working on the case, along with investigators from Yellowknife.

Five members from the RCMP's major crimes unit arrived Wednesday, along with a forensic expert and deputy chief coroner Cathy Menard. The victim's body was removed Thursday morning to Edmonton for autopsy. Police said more information might be made available once the autopsy report comes back.

The victim was identified as Keith Blair, 46, of Inuvik.

According to a close friend who declined to be named, Blair was a happy-go-lucky, regular guy whom everyone liked. "He was a friendly guy, a doesn't-start-fights, doesn't-bother-anyone kind of guy."

The friend said Blair was originally from Ottawa, but had lived in Inuvik for at least a decade, and had only recently celebrated his one-year wedding anniversary with his wife, Ingrid Binder, an airline ticket agent. He was a slight man who suffered from a physical disability that made his movements effortful, but he was a hard worker.

People who knew him say he was a man who wouldn't hurt a fly, who didn't have an enemy in the world. They say it's hard to understand why anyone would want to harm him.

Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-228-8477, or the Inuvik detachment at 777-2935.