Family mourns man killed in snowmobile accident
Mel Palmer, 53, was 'the steward of Walsh Lake'
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Friday, November 21, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Walsh Lake man's family and friends are in mourning after he was killed in a snowmobile crash near his cabin earlier this week.
Melvin "Mel" Palmer, 53, seen here in a Facebook photo, has been identified as the man killed in a snowmobile crash on Walsh Lake early Wednesday morning. RCMP say Palmer, who lived in Walsh Lake, was killed when he struck a tree and was thrown from his snow machine. - photo courtesy of Facebook |
Melvin "Mel" Palmer's wife, Lorna, said the 53-year-old had left their cabin, which is on an island, at around 8 p.m. Tuesday evening and snowmobiled across the lake to check on another cabin.
"He knew the cabin owner was not there so he took a 10-minute trip to see why the lights were on," she said.
"When he realized the lights were from a solar panel, he turned around to come home. When he was overdue, I called RCMP. It looks like he hit some ice and rocks and and landed in the trees. He wasn't wearing a helmet."
His stepdaughter Jaimee Imrie said she is still in shock. Imrie now lives in Victoria but works at Snap Lake diamond mine.
"I was a young girl when Mel and my mom moved to Walsh Lake," she said. "He raised me and taught me about the outdoors.
"He made me the strong person I am today. We lived off the grid on an island. Any road that was plowed around Walsh Lake, Mel plowed it. He was the steward of Walsh Lake."
Palmer had been the sales manager at Emco, a plumbing and heating company in Yellowknife, said Imrie said
"This changes the character of Walsh Lake," said Doug Witty, a fellow Walsh Lake cabin owner and the founder of Force One in Yellowknife.
Witty, who now lives in B.C., said he plowed roads in the Walsh Lake area with Palmer. He loved living on Walsh Lake.
"He was the caretaker of Walsh Lake. He would always help anyone who was stuck," said Witty.
"He was friends with everybody who lived out there. He would check on cabins. He would deal with bears in the area. He knew his way around the lake and the outdoors. This is shocking and tragic."
NWT Chief Coroner Cathy Menard said Palmer's body has been sent to Edmonton for an autopsy and a toxicology report. She said she expects the autopsy report to be completed in a "day or two."
The toxicology report will take four to six months, said Menard.
RCMP Cpl. Todd Scaplen said Palmer was found at about 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, adding police believe alcohol was a factor in the crash - something Lorna Palmer disputes.
"He'd had a couple of drinks over the course of the evening," said Palmer. "He was not intoxicated. I wouldn't have let him leave otherwise."
Palmer said she intends to get in touch with the investigating officers and explain that she doesn't feel it is accurate to say alcohol was a factor in the crash. The family said the funeral is expected to be held next week although arrangements have yet to be finalized.
