Rae Lakes (Jun 19/06) - A duck hunting trip turned tragic after a man fell overboard and perished in Faber Lake.

Francis Quitte, a 52-year-old Gameti man, had been hunting for duck with friends around midnight June 10.

When the group found an abandoned aluminum boat by the shore, Quitte went aboard to inspect it while his two friends drove their boat elsewhere.

After a while, the two men returned to see why their friend was lagging behind. They found the boat floating on the lake, but with no one aboard.

On June 14, Arctic Divers found Quitte's body in the lake.

It was the end of a three-day search which involved RCMP officers, an airplane and almost 30 Gameti volunteers, who scoured the lake and its shore.

He was an experienced boater, but it is believed Quitte was not wearing a lifejacket.

Friends describe him as a friendly man who loved hunting and fishing in the outdoors. He was a truck driver for Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., who has two sisters and a mother living in Gameti.

"He was a well-known person in the community, and is very well liked," said Terry Drybones, an employee of the Gameti government's community office who knew Quitte.

"I first heard about it at 3 a.m. on the night he disappeared," she said. "Everyone in Gameti is shocked."

Yellowknife RCMP say an investigation is still ongoing. An autopsy will be performed on the body to confirm the cause of death.

Faber Lake is about one hour south of Gameti by boat.