Norwegian hiker’s family thanks searchers after body found

The family of Norwegian hiker Steffen Skjottelvik, whose body was discovered in a remote region of northern Manitoba, has been on an “emotional rollercoaster” since he first went missing 10 days ago.

“From despair, frustration of being so far away, then into focus and decision making, dealing with the press attention, and then into less and less hope, and finally no hope, and focusing on finding Steffen, which they did on Sunday,” said Christian Dyresen from Norway Monday, a family friend and spokesperson for the Skjottelviks.

RCMP said Sunday the 29-year-old man’s body was found along the banks of the Hayes River near York Factory after a helicopter pilot spotted it and alerted search crews on the ground.

Skjottelvik set out in late July from Fort Severn, Ont., on a 300-kilometre trek northwest to York Factory, part of a larger plan to hike across northern Canada from James Bay to Alaska. His last known contact came about 20 kilometres east of York Factory.

In a news release, Gillam RCMP thanked Fort Severn community members and Parks Canada staff for their help with the search. The Skjottelvik family echoed that gratitude.

“The family wishes to thank Fort Severn First Nation, and all of the people who helped out locally, by plane and by foot in this hard area they had to search,” he said.

The family is making plans to travel to Winnipeg, where Skjottelvik’s body was flown for an autopsy Monday morning. They also want to meet with Skjottelvik’s friends, and those who helped search for him.

Dyresen said Skjottelvik grew up on a family farm in southwestern Norway, about 50 minutes from Oslo, and developed a love for the outdoors at a private school that emphasized nature knowledge.

He was also inspired by Norwegian explorers Helge Ingstad and Lars Monsen, the latter of whom chronicled a three-year trek across Canada in the documentary Canada From Coast to Coast.

“He looked up to several wildlife pioneers in Norway… Monsen was one of his biggest inspirations for Steffen,” Dyresen said. “Skjottelvik wanted to live his dreams and push the limits in nature.”

On Monday, Dyresen also shared a video from Fort Severn showing Skjottelvik’s dogs, Togo and Bay, reunited.

The dogs were being flown to Peawanuck, a small Cree community in Northern Ontario, where Skjottelvik’s partner lives.

Meanwhile, a pair of fundraisers have been set up in Skjottelvik’s name, including a GoFundMe that’s raised nearly $15,000 of a stated $16,000 goal.

Dyresen said another fundraiser in Norway raised $1.4 million Norwegian Kroner, or about $191,563.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca