North

Search underway for instructor, student missing from Arviat

Rob Hood, 59, from Ontario and Robert Gibbons Jr., 23, of Arviat left the community for the Maguse Lake area on Saturday and failed to return.
Robert Gibbons Jr of Arviat and Rob Hood of Ontario went missing near the community on May 10. Gibbons was a student in a recent drilling course taught by Hood. The two left the community by snowmobile during the annual fishing derby. (Courtesy of Harmony Hood)

RCMP and search and rescue volunteers are looking for two people missing from Arviat, Nunavut.

Rob Hood, 59, from Ontario and Robert Gibbons Jr, 23, of Arviat, left the community for the Maguse Lake area on Saturday. Hood is a drilling instructor and Gibbons recently completed one of his courses.

Gibbons' family realized he was missing on the weekend. Gibbons' father Robert Senior says the two left the family late on Saturday afternoon to see friends.

"They found out his friends were overnighting on the land, so Junior and his former teacher started heading back to Arviat on Saturday around 4 p.m."

The two were on one black and yellow snowmobile without survival gear.

According to RCMP an aerial search start this afternoon. Searchers will also check approximately 50 cabins in the area.

Many people were out for Arviat's annual fishing derby during this past weekend, and anyone with information is asked to contact the local RCMP detachment.