Five youth who were the subject of a missing person search last month are now facing break and enter charges.
The five teenagers, from Southend, were reported missing on November 6 after they had failed to return from a hunting trip on Reindeer Lake. They were rescued four days later.
After the rescue, a damage complaint was filed to the RCMP by the owner of a wilderness lodge. Kelly Littlechilds, the owner of Arctic Lodges, says doors had been kicked in and fishing gear, clothing and all-terrain vehicles were out of place.
Littlechilds says this isn’t the first time an incident like this has happened. He says the RCMP wanted to press charges.
“We can’t press charges, it is the RCMP who does that,” said the lodge owner. “Normally we would probably let something like this slide, but when we hear it has become a problem we are willing to cooperate with what is going on.”
RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier can’t say why the RCMP decided to lay the charges. She says the details will be laid out during the court process.
The five youth will appear in Southend Youth Justice Court on January 29.