Missing Norwegian hiker’s body found near Hayes River, RCMP say

YORK FACTORY – RCMP say they’ve found the body of a 29-year-old Norwegian hiker who disappeared in northern Manitoba while on a cross-continental journey of the Canadian wilderness. 

Mounties from the Gilliam RCMP detachment say police, Parks Canada officers and community searchers from Fort Severn, Ont., were on the west side of the Hayes River on Sunday morning when they received a report from a helicopter pilot who believed he’d spotted the missing hiker’s body. 

They say the searchers went to the area and confirmed the body belonged to the overdue man. 

Steffan Skjottelvik was first reported missing on Aug. 15 after he failed to arrive in York Factory, Man., which is 850 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. 

He had set out on foot with his two dogs from Fort Severn last month. One of his dogs reportedly made it to York Factory, but the other had gone missing. 

Searchers — including members of nearby First Nations — had canvassed treacherous muskeg and swift-moving rivers for days, recovering a backpack and rifle belonging to Skjottelvik on Thursday. 

Police had also previously obtained what were believed to be the last co-ordinates where Skjottelvik’s GPS was connected to satellites, locating him about 4.4 kilometres from York Factory, on the east side of the river and just north of the town. 

“He would have had to walk across that river,” RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said. 

Manaigre said searchers found Skjottelvik’s backpack on the east side of the river and north of York Factory, while his body and jacket were found on the same side of the river but further south. 

He said the tide likely pushed the remains further south. 

Earlier in the search, police said they believed the hiker had attempted to cross the fast-moving Hayes River near York Factory and got swept up by the current. They said locals had also been helping in the search effort on boats and helicopters because the terrain near the river was too dangerous to search on foot. 

Christian Dyresen, a spokesperson for Skjottelvik’s family, told The Canadian Press earlier this week that Skjottelvik’s trip was inspired by Lars Monsen, a well-known television personality in Norway, who completed a similar expedition through Canada’s North. 

Mounties said the man’s body was flown by helicopter to Gilliam and was then flown to Winnipeg, where an autopsy has been scheduled for Monday morning. 

Gilliam RCMP thanked the community members from Fort Severn and Parks Canada for their assistance in the search. 

— By Cassidy McMackon in Toronto. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2025.