Tuktoyaktuk (Mar 24/03) - When Erik Spellman and Clifford Mee had to leave their kayak and gear behind in the frozen waters of the Mackenzie River last fall, they thought they would never see it again.

Spellman, a resident of Steilacoom, Wash., and Mee, an Australian, were on a kayaking expedition up the Mackenzie River in September when they became stuck in the ice near Swimming Point.

After setting off an emergency indicator beacon, the pair were soon rescued by a Canadian Helicopters crew but had to leave their gear behind.

Spellman returned home to the United States thinking he would never see the kayak again. But earlier this month he received an unexpected and surprising phone call from the RCMP in Tuktoyaktuk.

Local elder Abraham Klengenberg was out looking for firewood on March 7 when he saw a red object sticking out of the ice about a mile from shore, not far from the hamlet.

"I thought it might me something useful. At first I thought it was a jerrycan," said Klengenberg, a hunter and fisherman.

But when he started digging through the ice, he soon discovered the object was much more valuable than an old gas can.

"I started shovelling it out and the next thing it turned into a kayak," he exclaimed.

Klengenberg kept digging until he retrieved all of Spellman's and Mee's gear from inside the kayak.

"Everything seemed to be so nicely fixed up so I just kept on digging until I got everything out of it.

"It wasn't even sunk, it just caught between the old ice and the slush," he said.

Klengenberg immediately contacted the local RCMP upon his return to the hamlet to report his discovery.

"He was nice enough to go through the trouble of digging out the stuff and turn it over to us," said Sgt. Joe Laughlin.

Upon inspection of the gear, officers discovered the proper owners were none other than the American and Australian tourists that had to leave their kayak behind last fall.

Spellman said he couldn't believe it when he was contacted by the RCMP.

"I was pretty sure the boat would float and I was amazed it didn't break up ... I just thought it would be entombed in the ice forever. "And even if someone did recover it, I thought they would just keep it," he said.

Klengenberg said he never considered keeping the loot for himself. It's just not in his nature.

"My parents always said that honesty is the best policy," said Klengenberg.

Spellman has informed the elder he will be presenting him with a $500 reward, and possibly more, for recovering his kayak and gear.

Klengenberg was surprised at that. "Everything turned out so good, how can I say no?"

Spellman is flying to Inuvik and then driving to Tuktoyaktuk this week to meet and thank Klengenberg. The pair will then head out to dig out the kayak.