The search for a man missing near Fort Liard has “concluded with the discovery of human remains,” police said on Monday.
Anthony McLaughlin was first reported missing by police on Wednesday, after an overdue rental truck acquired in Fort Nelson, BC was found unoccupied at a woodlot near Fort Liard.
A search and rescue operation was subsequently launched, involving assistance from residents of Fort Liard alongside rescue team members from Fort St John, Yellowknife and Fort Nelson.
In a Monday news release, police said searchers had on Sunday “located a deceased male within the search area that was tentatively identified as Anthony McLaughlin.”
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His next of kin have been notified, RCMP said, and the office of the NWT’s chief coroner will continue an investigation.
No cause of death was made public.
McLaughlin was earlier said by police to have been hiking in the area.
Mike Gonet, a contractor and park operator for Blackstone Territorial Park who lives in Fort Liard, described the woodlot in question as “not a typical hiking spot” where even people familiar with its trails could get lost.
“The RCMP would like to thank everyone that assisted with this search and rescue effort,” police said, concluding Monday’s statement.
“This is a tragic result and our thoughts are with Mr McLaughlin’s family.”
