Fatigue setting in for rescue crews as search for missing snowmobiler enters 7th day

With the search for a missing Sheshatshiu man entering its seventh day Monday, the rescue team co-ordinator says crews are getting tired and need some relief.

Joachim Andrew, 41, left a cabin on Mistastun Lake on June 3 and has not been heard from since. Search and rescue team leader Mark Nui says the team has found snowmobile tracks entering a previously unsearched area. That's good news, said Nui, and search and rescue teams hope to access the area Monday.

"It's getting to the point where he may be very weak if he's out there," he told CBC News.

Teams have been searching on land and on the water, by helicopter, boat and ATV. They hope to search the shoreline and two kilometres inland Monday, said Nui.

There are challenges facing the crews, he said, with one of the most significant being the weather. The lake's shifting ice is causing headaches for boats, blocking certain areas. 

Foggy weather is leading to visibility difficulties for the air search, he said, and crews are getting tired.

"Fatigue is starting to set in in the camps, so we will require some Natuashish and Sheshatshiu to come in to help with the search," he said.

Andrew was very familiar with the region and had been coming every spring for over a decade, said Nui, but fog can be very disorienting even to those who know the area. 

Nui thanked the community for its support and said he would be providing updates on Facebook.

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