Search and rescue personnel were called out to the Nisutlin Bay area last Friday after a canoeist did not return from a trip over the past weekend.

Adelard Joseph Tremblay was last seen canoeing in the area last Wednesday.

Winds were high and the waters were rough that day, the RCMP said Monday.

When the 53-year-old did not show up for work last Friday morning, concerned co-workers called the police at around 9:30 a.m.

The missing man was new to the territory, police say.

Teslin community members, the RCMP and search and rescue personnel co-ordinated their efforts in the Nisutlin Bay area.

The resources used include a helicopter, Twin Otter plane, police service dog and boats belonging to the RCMP, search and rescue members and private citizens.

At about 2:30 p.m., a spotter in the RCMP Twin Otter located a canoe.

Boats were sent to the area and the canoe was recovered, but no occupant was located.

Whitehorse Search and Rescue president Cam Beemer, who helped out with the initial search, describes the delta area as "completely underwater.”

"The closest part of that area that would be dry ground is right now under four feet of water,” he said Monday afternoon.

That water was about six degrees C.

Teslin RCMP are seeking the public's assistance in locating Tremblay.

He is described as a caucasian male with short, curly gray hair, brown eyes, 176 cm (five feet, nine inches) tall and weighing 77 kg (170 lbs.).

Anyone who may have observed an individual matching this description or perhaps picked him up in a boat or vehicle in the Teslin area is asked to contact Teslin RCMP immediately.

Police say they are continuing their search efforts, hoping to locate Tremblay.