Iqaluit (Apr 04/05) - The unexpected death of a young RCMP officer has left residents of Iqaluit reeling.

Const. Ben Williams died in a snowmobile accident while riding with his friends near Tar Inlet on the afternoon of March 28. Flags at Nunavut RCMP detachments fluttered at half-mast last week.

Const. Ben Williams shortly after he joined the RCMP in October 1999. - photo courtesy Bill Chisholm

"Ben and I really hit it off. It felt like I knew him forever," said Cpl. Wills Thomas, who remembered Williams as someone whose dedication to the force was matched only by his easygoing sense of humour.

"Ben would laugh all the time. He'd make you laugh right now."

As a 26-year-old Inuk, Williams was considered a role model for many youth in the community. He leaves behind one unfinished dream: he hoped to introduce a suicide prevention program into highschools.

Williams was leader of his troop, as well the only constable in Canada with voting rights on a division's management team. He had served in Rankin Inlet as well as Iqaluit, where he was currently stationed with federal enforcement.

"He was proud of his uniform," Thomas said.

Both officers shared a passion for snowmobiling and motorsports. Thomas said when he rode with Williams out on the land, he could tell the young officer was in his element.

"He left doing what he loved doing," he said. "But he left us too soon."

Williams is survived by his wife Virginia and their two young children.