Yellowknife (Oct 27/06) - Rescuers found three overdue, Lutsel K'e-bound boaters Friday evening, hours after launching a search over the rough waters of Great Slave Lake.

The Canadian Forces' airborne 440 Squadron, based in Yellowknife, located the two men and one woman at the bottom end of Etthen Island, and they were rescued Saturday morning.

The group had left Yellowknife last Tuesday. Their families expected them to arrive by Wednesday morning, at the latest, and notified the RCMP on Thursday when they had still not arrived.

Their names have not been released.

After rounding the tip of Gros Cap, the boaters found their five-metre boat was too overloaded to make headway in adverse weather, according to police.

"They were fighting the weather so they camped, which is smart," said Cpl. Dennis McLeod of the Lutsel K'e RCMP.

The boaters were making slow progress along the lake, hugging the north shoreline and camping when it was too rough to travel.

When they were located, they were nearly out of fuel and the weather was cold. But all three were okay.

McLeod said that in good conditions, the trip from Yellowknife to Lutsel K'e by boat can take as little as three hours.

McLeod said boaters should always tell someone when they expect to arrive and have camping supplies on hand if something goes wrong.