Two Whitehorse men who didn’t return from a hunting trip when expected have been found safe in the Mayo area.

Mayo RCMP received a call Tuesday afternoon about the two hunters.

They were supposed to have returned home on Monday and start work Tuesday.

When they failed to arrive, family and friends became concerned and called the police.

RCMP officers chartered a helicopter and searched the length of the Stewart River while there was still available daylight, but didn’t see any sign of the men nor their boat.

Search efforts began again at first light Wednesday.

This involved police watercraft from both the Mayo and Dawson City detachments, as well as friends of the missing men who arrived from Whitehorse to assist. Helicopter patrols also resumed. 

At 11:50 Wednesday morning, Mayo RCMP located one of them.

He was taking refuge in a cabin approximately 20 kilometres north of the McQuesten River. 

The second man, who had been trying to walk out, was located a short time later. 

Both men, whose names were not released, were safe, and neither required medical attention. 

They told police they’d run out of fuel. The pair was taken back to their vehicle in Stewart Crossing, where they were united with friends who assisted in the search effort.

The men were not carrying a SPOT beacon nor a satellite phone, so were unable to relay their position or status, police said in a news release.

They also appeared to have changed their plans at the last minute as to where they were launching from, which meant police were required to consider more than one potential starting point.

“The RCMP would like to thank the volunteers who came up and assisted us with this situation, and Fireweed Helicopters for making themselves available on such short notice,” said Cpl. Chris Hutchings, the Mayo RCMP detachment commander.

“This incident illustrates the importance of ensuring you have satellite phone, SPOT beacon or some other means of signalling your position and a distress call when you are travelling in the backcountry.

“We are just thankful that this incident was successfully resolved, with everyone returning home safely.”