The Yukon Corner’s Service has confirmed that the man reported missing after departing a Whitehorse hotel on a snowmobile was found dead.
The coroner’s service is still investigating but believes the man, 39-year-old Lance Brett Scollen of Nanaimo, succumbed to the elements.
Scollen was reported missing on Nov. 15. He was last seen leaving the Airport Chalet around 4 p.m. the afternoon before.
“It is understood that the snowmobiler had gone out onto the trails around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14, with the intention of only being out for a few hours,” a coroner’s service statement reads.
Scollen’s snowmobile was found in knee-deep snow in the Mount Sima area shortly before noon on Nov. 16. He had walked away from the machine. His body was found approximately three kilometres away and it appears to the coroner that he died of exposure to the elements. The coroner will continue to investigate to determine a cause of death with assistance from the Whitehorse RCMP.
According to the coroner, Scollen had been in the Yukon for only a short time.
“Yukon Coroner’s Service extends our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Scollen,” the statement reads.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
