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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Six-year-old Cohen Shaffer, wearing a bright green snowsuit, was all smiles on Thursday as he hopped on his matching snowmobile which his father retrieved from a trail near their Wong Court home.

Six-year-old Cohen Shaffer and his dad, Darren, are very thankful they found Cohen's snowmobile Thursday after it was stolen from their home earlier in the week. - Katherine Hudson/NNSL photo

Thanks to a tip from a friend, the sled had only been stolen for about two days.

The snowmobile, a child-size Arctic Cat Z120 sled, had been stolen on Tuesday from the Shaffers' backyard. While there's hardly enough snow to move these machines through trails and across frozen lakes, riders are chomping at the bit to get out there, and so are thieves.

Darren, Cohen's father, was grabbing something from the shed around noon Tuesday when he noticed the covers of his two Arctic Cat snowmobiles were laying on the ground, off the machines. He then looked farther to the left where his son's snowmobile had been but all he saw was the cover in the snow.

Darren thinks his snowmobiles were saved because one was a newer model which needs a chip key to start it. The older model had been sitting out all summer and he assumed the thieves couldn't get it started. Cohen's sled has a key like the older model but is much smaller. All someone has to do is unplug the switch on the machine and it starts up easily, said Darren.

"He was heartbroken," said Darren when Cohen found out about his missing sled. Darren said his son went to bed in tears that night. Cohen isn't your average six-year-old. He has been snowmobiling since he was two years old and has been racing for the past two years in snow-cross and snow-drag events in communities such as Yellowknife, Hay River and Fort Providence.

This winter, Cohen hopes to compete in events taking place in Fort Simpson and Fort Smith.

Darren was saddened by the incident as well. Not only was the sled expensive due to added parts over the years, he and Cohen built parts of it together.

"The sled's replaceable. Me and him built it and we got pictures and videos of him wrenching on it. We do a little bit to it every year. It's ours, we worked on it," said Darren.

Dave Werrell, a salesperson at Wajax Industrial Components on Old Airport Road, sells snowmobile parts to Darren and heard about the snatched machine. He says it's "ridiculous" how many snowmobiles are stolen, even snowmobiles for kids. He offered directions to some trails around Darren's home - some of which are just behind the store - and said to check them out, that many stolen snowmobiles are ditched after a joyride.

"He wasn't aware of where the trails are around here. We just kind of gave him the heads up, it's worth checking around. We know 99 per cent of (stolen snowmobiles) just get dumped off in the woods somewhere and everybody takes off and leaves them," said Werrell.

"It worked out good. (Darren) figured it was gone. Around here, well, I know most of them go for a little joyride and (the snowmobiles) get found a few days later."

Darren did just as Werrell suggested and found the little snowmobile on the side of a small lake near Magrum Crescent.

"I loaded it on the back of my quad and brought it back home. (Cohen) was in school and I got him and said, 'Found your sled,' and he just had a big smile on his face," said Darren.

The pair will take the sled in to see what the damage is. Darren said he noticed a broken ski and Cohen pointed out some scratches that weren't there before. It will now be stored in the garage.

"We'll get it in, go over it, and get it ready for the season. We're just happy to have it back," said Darren.

There was a rash of thefts at the end of last year's snowmobile season. The RCMP reminded residents at the time to ensure their machines are adequately secured with commercially purchased track locks or by rendering the snowmobile inoperable by removing the spark plugs and belt.

Of eight that were stolen between March and April, all but one of the stolen snowmobiles had been recovered.

This has been the first reported snowmobile theft of the season in the city, Sgt. Brad Kaeding said Friday.

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