The search for a downed helicopter and two missing Kapuskasing residents ended on Monday with the discovery of the wreckage and the location of two bodies.

Capt. Graeme Scott, a public affairs officer for the search and rescue mission based out of the Timmins Victory M. Power Municipal Airport confirmed the wreckage of the helicopter and the bodies of Nicole and Jody Blais had been located.

“At approximately 1:22 p.m. a Canadian Forces Hercules aircraft made a possible sighting and then at approximately 1:54 p.m. a Canadian Forces CH146 Griffin was on scene and confirmed it was in fact the crash location and they deployed two search and rescue technicians and upon them reaching the crash site they confirmed both occupants were vital signs absent,” he said.

Capt. Scott indicated the crash site is approximately 35 miles southeast of Kapuskasing, in a fairly remote location.

While cell towers aided in the early part of the six-day search, there were no transponder signals like you would associate with a fixed-wing aircraft.

“Usually most helicopters would have an emergency locator transmitter, however, for an unknown reason, there wasn’t an ELT transmission coming out of this aircraft,” Capt. Scott said.

“We do not want to speculate as to why that may be, we just know there was no transmission from this aircraft.”

Capt. Scott acknowledged the helicopter could have been equipped with an ELT and that it might have been destroyed in the crash or there could have been a mechanical malfunction.

“It could have been any number of reasons, so we don’t want to speculate as to why,” he said.

Without an ELT transmission, the search for the missing helicopter was a lot more challenging.

“The crash site was located in one of the high-probability areas,” Capt. Scott said.

“One of our spotters, using their training, identified a possible aircraft location and then having supplemental resources, we went in and confirmed that.”

Capt. Scott would not speculate on whether the two victims died on impact or if they survived the crash and then succumbed to their injuries.

“The case is being referred to the Transportation Safety Board for further investigation, so at this time we don’t want to speculate on whether or not the two persons were deceased upon impact or they survived after the crash,” he said.

“It is too early to get into those kind of details.”

The extensive search for the helicopter involved a number of aircraft, as well as close to a hundred people on the ground using snowmobiles and snowshoes.

“We haven’t calculated the total number of hours, but at the height of the search we had seven RCAF aircraft, one Coast Guard helicopter and three Civil Air Search and Rescue Association aircraft looking,” Capt. Scott said.

He wouldn’t speculate on whether six days is typical for a search and rescue operation of this nature in a sparsely populated area like northeastern Ontario.

“It is kind of hard to say,” Capt. Scott said.

“Every mission is different, different aircraft, different locations, different signals, whether this is an ELT or not, whether they filed a flight plan or not.”

Obviously, Monday’s outcome was not what everyone associated with the search had been hoping for, but those who took part in the search hope it will at least bring some closure.

“We just want to extend our condolences to the friends and families of Jody and Nicole Blais,” Capt. Scott said.

With the search having concluded, he noted the site is being turn over to the Ontario Provincial Police.

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