A Whitehorse mountain biker made a gruesome discovery Friday afternoon when he found a severed human head on Grey Mountain.
The RCMP’s major crimes unit spent the weekend scouring the area in search of more remains with the help of the division’s police dog, Ryder. But they found none.
The head was found near the Bypass Trail, located 5.6 kilometres north of Wickstrom Road and about 3.3 kilometres northeast of the Long Lake Road.
Police have sent the head to a forensic expert. They aren’t disclosing whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
The head was “certainly not fresh,” said Sgt. Don Rogers. Nor was the head “historic.”
It remains unclear whether the remains are a result of foul play.
“We don’t know. It’s not part of any ongoing investigation we’re aware of,” said Rogers.
The head could have been removed by animals from the body of someone who died on the mountain. Or it could have been scavenged by animals from the nearby graveyard.
The remains will be compared to descriptions of people reported missing, said Rogers.
(John Thompson)
Elk shot and left to rot
A big bull elk was shot and abandoned near the Klondike Highway between Braeburn and Carmacks during the week of October 12.
The elk was found about 100 metres off the west side of the highway, about seven kilometres south of Montague House.
It appears the animal was shot from the highway and left to rot, say conservation officers.
If caught, the hunter would likely face a charge of wasting meat and abandoning the animal.
But it’s possible the animal was wounded in a legal hunt and never successfully retrieved.
This is the first season Yukoners have been able to shoot elk since the mid-1980s.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Turn in Poachers hotline at 1-800-661-0525.
(John Thompson)
Follow the torch
The city of Whitehorse has released details of next Tuesday’s Olympic torch relay route.
It starts on November 3 at 3 p.m. at the Beringia Centre. From there, the relay will make its way down the Alaska Highway, up Hamilton Boulevard, through McIntyre subdivision, down Two Mile Hill, and through the downtown before arriving at Shipyards Park at 6 p.m.
Tourism Minister Elaine Taylor is encouraging residents to come out and cheer.
Speeches, food and entertainment will follow the relay at Shipyards Park.
Whitehorse is one of 1,036 communities across Canada that will host a torch relay for the Vancouver 2010 games.
(John Thompson)