Man found dead in bay near Ndilo
Deceased an Ekati mine worker from Behchoko
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Behchoko man is dead after his body was found in Great Slave Lake along the shore of Ndilo on Sunday evening.
Gerald Zoe: Believed to be the man found dead near Ndilo Sunday. - photo courtesy Face Book |
There was no immediate indication of what caused the man's death.
Yellowknifer has learned the man's name was Gerald Zoe. Multiple people expressed condolences this week to the family and friends of the young Behchoko man on Facebook.
In 2013, Yellowknifer wrote about Zoe's completion of the Introduction to Underground Mining program at the Mine Training Society. He's shown in a photo taken in Behchoko holding his certificate with a broad smile alongside society general manager Hilary Jones.
"We're always sad when one of our students pass away," Jones said in an interview Tuesday.
"He was a good underground miner."
He had gone on to work at the Ekati Diamond Mine.
"He was a good student and did well enough to get employment," she said.
RCMP civilian member Marie York-Condon declined to identify the deceased when reached for comment Monday.
"At this point, the investigation is ongoing. If there's a reason to release the name then the RCMP will make that decision," she said.
York-Condon said it hasn't been determined if the death is considered suspicious.
A resident of Ndilo spotted a body floating in the water Sunday and called emergency services, people gathered said.
At least one ambulance and multiple RCMP officers rushed to Kemelli Tili road on the east side of Ndilo around 5 p.m.
The city refused to provide any information about its response, although the fire department's boat was seen heading back toward the fire hall shortly after the initial call.
The ambulance left the area after about an hour with its lights off.
Kemelli Tili was blocked by RCMP at the intersection with Sikyea Tili road. As police worked at the lake shore behind a red house out of sight from the street, a crowd gathered to find out what happened and who died.
They stood only a few feet from the home where in 2013 Daniel Faine was stabbed to death and down the road from where last year Archie Paulette was found grievously wounded in his home. He later died.
Children on bikes and scooters wandered, occasionally probing the limits of how close they could get to the scene before being told to move back.
NWT Chief Coroner Cathy Menard arrived in a beige cargo van, removing a bright orange stretcher from the back.
An RCMP officer just before 7 p.m. placed two bags in a cruiser - one with a phone, it's white cord still plugged in, and another with an identification card.
Another officer pulled off his footwear, holding them in the air to drain them and then wringing the water from his socks.
The deceased's remains were sent today for an autopsy Monday in Edmonton, Menard said.
Preliminary results of the autopsy are sometimes available within 48 hours while test results can take weeks to months.
