RCMP are searching for five teenagers who left a northern Saskatchewan community Tuesday afternoon by boat and haven't been seen since.

Police say the Southend, Sask., teens, three boys and one girl between the ages of 13 and 17, were reported missing on Thursday.

The teens are believed to be in the Reindeer Lake area. Their names haven't been released.

Local residents are helping with the search, including the Civil Air Search and Rescue.

RCMP said the search for the teens is still active, but the lake is large and the search has been hampered by poor weather.

Jennifer Huculak, who runs Nordic Fishing Lodge in Southend with her husband, told CBC News the entire community would most likely shut down Sunday to help with the search, reiterating that it will be difficult to find the teens in that area.

There are 5,500 islands in Reindeer Lake, Huculak said, and cabins located on some could be a place to seek shelter in bad weather. Reindeer Lake water can get rough very quickly, she said, and the temperature of the water is around 10 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures dipped well below freezing in the Southend area on Saturday with winds gusting to 40 km/h.

Southend is about 500 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon at the southern tip of Reindeer Lake, the ninth largest lake in Canada.