Manitoba man dies, another badly hurt during remote search

A Manitoba man was found dead and a second is in critical condition after an ill-fated search-and-rescue mission in a remote area near the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border Tuesday.

Alphonse Denechezhe, 47, and Leonard Dettanikeaze, 40, members of the Lac Brochet Search and Rescue (Rangers), were part of a search party looking for a missing snowmobiler who had set out for Wollaston Lake, Sask., from Lac Brochet, Man., last week.

The man and his snowmobile were located, but there was no word from the two Rangers, who were in a yellow Tundra 550 truck.

A spokesperson from the Northlands First Nation in Lac Brochet said Denechezhe’s sister reported the two men missing Tuesday afternoon.

Wollaston RCMP located the pair a short time later, approximately 25 kilometres east of Wollaston Lake. Denechezhe was already dead.

Dettanikeaze was rushed to the Lac Brochet nursing station in critical condition and transported to Winnipeg for further treatment.

Both men were members of the Canadian Rangers, a mostly aboriginal reserve unit that falls under the umbrella of the Department of National Defence and is used for patrol and rescues in remote areas where they live.

A spokesman for the Canadian military said the pair were not on an official mission.

“In this case the individuals are acting as volunteer concerned citizens, not in their capacity as Canadian Rangers and not under military service,” Capt. Steven Parker wrote in an email to Global News Wednesday. “Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Alphonse M. Denechezhe.”

RCMP continue to investigate and an autopsy has been ordered to determine what caused Denechezhe’s death.

Wollaston Lake is approximately 700 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon.