An experienced outdoorsman who has been missing since spending a winter in a remote part of the Northwest Territories in 2019 has been declared deceased.
The declaration was made for the missing Glenn Field in territorial civil court in Yellowknife on April 8.
Field was last seen in April 2019 after spending the winter in a wall tent near Rolfe Lake, about 150 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.
His brother, Wayne Field, submitted an affidavit on Feb. 16 to officially declare Glenn deceased as of May 2019.
“It is my belief, given the amount of time that has passed since my brother Glenn Harold Field had last been spotted … that he is unfortunately deceased,” Wayne wrote in the affidavit.
“I don’t know when but would have to assume it was around May 2019 or in the spring of 2019.”
Experience in the outdoors
Wayne visited Yellowknife in July 2021, where he spoke with an RCMP officer who said based on their experience in the North — and understanding the geography of where Glenn was staying — there was not much optimism that he had survived.
Glenn moved to Yellowknife in 2018, according to the court documents.
He appeared to be in the process of establishing the N.W.T. as his new home — he had applied for resident status and had his truck and trailer plated.
Wayne wrote that he believes Glenn was planning to start working in the territory, but spent the winter of 2019 on the land — something he had done several times before.
In the early 1980s, Glenn spent a winter in the Coppermine River area where he had a rough time, running out of food and losing three toes to the cold, according to the court documents.
Wayne wrote in the affidavit that he believes Glenn spent one or two more winters on the land since the 2000s, but that he would not share those details with Wayne.
“He would not tell me his plans since I disapproved. He always went on the land in the Northwest Territories.”
Wayne wrote that he believes Glenn left Rolfe Lake with maps, skis, a canoe and his dogs to make his way to Great Slave Lake and then to Yellowknife in the spring of 2019.
Wayne wrote that although he can’t be sure, he believes Glenn may have capsized while canoeing.
Police began searching for Glenn around October 2019 and continued to launch search parties for about a year after.
Full Story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/glenn-field-deceased-1.6415134
