Aklavik (Jan 08/07) - A filmmaker interested in exhuming the body of the Mad Trapper recently travelled to Aklavik, to ask how residents feel about the idea.

Carrie Gour, who is half of the two-person company Myth Merchant Films, was scheduled to fly to Aklavik this past weekend.

Michael Jorgensen elicited some controvery in Aklavik for his plan to dig up the Mad Trapper's body for a DNA test. The test might allow scientists to find out who he was. - Photo courtesy of Michael Jorgensen. Below, the body of Albert Johnson is one of Aklavik's landmarks. The local cemetery is marked with a big yellow sign, which tells the violent story of his demise. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photo

Business partner Michael Jorgensen, who has won an Emmy award and more than 80 international film prizes, said Gour spoke to residents about the idea of gathering evidence from the Mad Trapper's body.

The project would be part of a 60-minute documentary proposed for the Discovery Channel, which might be called "Hunted."

The film would trace the Mad Trapper's steps and detail his flight from the RCMP in 1932, and attempt to discover his identity. "This is really their story, we want to make sure they're included," Jorgensen said of the people of Aklavik.

According to the plan, Jorgensen said filmmakers would wait until warmer temperatures, then remove some soil above the gravesite.

A small sample of DNA would then be taken from the Trapper's remains, to possibly determine his origin.

"All you need is a few hairs," Jorgensen said, adding that the body would not be removed from the grave and nothing else would be done to it. He added that finding a sample that scientists would be able to extract DNA from would depend on the condition of the remains.

The Mad Trapper is presently only known by the pseudonym Albert Johnson, and it's unclear why he came to the North and from where.

Some residents wary

In Aklavik, hamlet council recently passed a motion supporting the project, but Mayor Knute Hansen said they might reconsider if the public opposes the dig.

Some residents are said to have called the plan distasteful, and said the body should not be disturbed.

However, since the Mad Trapper of Rat River is a near-legendary figure in the North -inspiring, among other things, the name of Inuvik's most popular bar, the Mad Trapper - Jorgensen said there would be some value to discovering his identity.

"I think the appeal is that everybody loves a mystery, and I feel this is one of the great iconic Canadian mysteries. Who was Albert Johnson and where did he come from? This may or may not answer that," he said.