Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Repulse Bay (July 31/02) - Hundreds of searchers are combing the waters and shores of Repulse Bay for the bodies of Andy and Darryl Tagornak.

The teenaged cousins went missing early Saturday morning in the frigid waters off the coast of the hamlet between 5-6 a.m.

Darryl was 17 years old. Andy was 14.

Efforts shifted early in the week from a rescue attempt to body recovery. An underwater camera with a range over 100 metres was flown in from Rankin Inlet to scan beneath the water for the bodies. Those efforts have been hampered by seaweed.

RCMP said the cousins were outside playing when one borrowed a kayak and went out into the bay. A group of children nearby saw the kayak return to shore to pick up the other cousin.

The two cousins then paddled out into bay. The next reported sighting was made by a 12-year-old, who noticed the overturned kayak out on the water about 20 minutes later. However, search and rescue crews were not notified until 4:25 p.m. Saturday -- almost 12 hours later -- when the teens were noticed missing by others.

Foul play is not suspected, although RCMP have said they believe Darryl had consumed some alcohol.

"It's been pretty sad," said Solomon Malliki, who is on the hamlet's search and rescue committee.

"It's terrible," said RCMP Cpl. Liz Douglas. "The whole community is working together trying to deal with it and come to grips with the fact that this is possible -- two youth died."

Douglas said the last drowning death in the community happened during a fishing accident in 1991.

At press time, nothing had been retrieved except the overturned kayak and its paddle.

The short, one-person kayak was not equipped with lifejackets or survival gear. Chances of survival in the water, which is between 1-2 degrees Celsius, are extremely slim.

"Within five minutes, you'd be quite hypothermic," said Douglas.

Soon after RCMP were notified, the Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ont., chartered a local helicopter to conduct an air survey of the bay.

Meanwhile, local water and land search efforts were coordinated by radio from the hamlet. About 50 boats and between 250-300 searchers criss-crossed the bay in search of the youths. On land, searchers drove ATVs and walked the shores looking for anything that might wash up. Boats have also begun dragging the sea-bottom during low tide.

Incoming and outgoing aircraft have been requested to scan the waters for any sign of the bodies.

"We hope that we find them for the family," said Douglas. "All we can do is hope and pray."