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Man's pleasant nature remembered
Putuguk Jayko, a homeless man in Taloyoak, found dead one week after he was reported missing

Jeanne Gagnon
Northern News Services
Monday, December 3, 2012

TALOYOAK/SPENCE BAY
A homeless man found dead last month is being remembered as a happy, smiling individual.

NNSL photo/graphic

Putuguk Jayko, a homeless man in Taloyoak, was found dead on Nov. 23, one week after being reported missing. - photo courtesy of Robert Lyall

Putuguk Jayko, 52, was found dead near Taloyoak's airport on Nov. 23, about one week after being reported missing.

Jayko had been staying at Bob Lyall's cabin by Middle Lake since the fall.

Lyall said he ran into Jayko on his way to the cabin during the fall's caribou hunting season. Jayko was staying in a hunting shack, so Lyall offered him his cabin. Lyall reported Jayko missing on Nov. 17 when he went to check on him and noticed Jayko was nowhere to be found.

"He had nowhere to stay, so he choose to stay at my cabin out at the lake where in our childhood, where we used to go camping in the spring and summertime as families do," he said. "That's where he choose to wait out his time waiting for a home."

Jayko was more than an acquaintance to Lyall, who described him as a brother or best friend who even helped Lyall build his house. Lyall added he is unsure of the exact circumstances which led Jayko to become homeless, but he was without a home for about three years.

"He was always happy. A good, happy-go-lucky man," he said, adding people are posting messages on Facebook. "It's been a pretty amazing time to share what he was all about. More than just a homeless man, forgotten."

Although Gjoa Haven is some 100 km away, the community was in a very supportive mood during the search, said Enuk Pauloosie, the hamlet's senior administrative officer. He added the community donated close to $1,000 towards the search-and-rescue effort in Taloyoak. Pauloosie, originally from Taloyoak, grew up with Jayko.

"I wish we could have done more but we could only do so much as human beings," he said. "It's unfortunate it ended this way. People tried."

Jayko leaves behind a number of siblings, children and grandchildren. Pauloosie said Jayko held different jobs in the community and described him as a good friend.

"I will miss him. He's got the warmest smiles ever. A good personality. He liked to joke around. He is going to be dearly missed by everybody," said Jayko. "From the time we grew up together, we did a lot of good things. We did some bad things together, as kids and teenagers sort of thing."

Pauloosie said Lyall has a "big heart" to let Jayko stay in his cabin and use his snowmobile when he needed a place to stay.

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