Yukon RCMP continue with 'recovery' efforts for missing man; wife says she's been kept in the dark
CBC
Yukon RCMP say the search continues for an Arizona man missing since last week, when the vehicle he was in plunged into the Yukon River south of Whitehorse. And police are now describing their efforts as a "recovery" operation to find the body of Knate Ostenso.
"We're doing our best to try to recover the missing individual to give some closure for the family," said RCMP spokesperson Calista MacLeod on Thursday.
Ostenso was one of two men in the pickup truck that went into the river near the Lewes River bridge early on Sep. 16. The driver managed to escape the vehicle after it went into the water.
Police confirmed last week that Ostenso was not found in the submerged vehicle.
MacLeod said police continue to do boat patrols in the area to try to find Ostenso, including on Thursday. She also said a helicopter would be out searching the area on Friday.
She said people have drowned in Yukon's waterways before, and part of the current search efforts involves drawing on research and evidence about undercurrents and the river's flow.
"Certainly those types of experiences, unfortunate experiences of different tragic events, will help to sort of identify the probable or potential areas where Mr. Ostenso might be located," MacLeod said.
"It's really about recovery at this point."
Ostenso's wife, Norine Mihajlovich, had been holding out hope last week that he may have escaped the water and become lost while trying to find safety. She pleaded with Yukoners last week to help search for her husband, describing him as a "fighter."
Speaking to CBC News on Wednesday, she acknowledged that even if Ostenso managed to escape from the river, it's unlikely that he will be found alive at this point.
"I told my kids their father was gone — dead," she said.
Mihajlovich is effusive in expressing her gratitude toward Yukoners who have helped with the search efforts since last week.
Those efforts "have been so overwhelming for not only me, but for Knate's friends, for Knate's family, for everyone," she said from her home in Arizona.
"I cannot express how amazing they are."