Missing family of 7 found safe in Arctic

IQALUIT, Nunavut, May 9 (UPI) -- A couple and their five children missing a week in the Canadian Arctic while traveling on a snowmobile have been found alive, police said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police issued a brief release Thursday night saying Mona and Mariano Susaarnak and their children had been located in northern Nunavut but offered few details, the National Post reported.

The family set out May 1 from Repulse Bay for Hall Beach with the parents towing their five children on a sled. The 140-mile trip normally takes four days but police were called when they didn't show up, the report said.

While the weather was relatively mild, wind and blowing snow frustrated the Canadian military's air search efforts. At least 12 civilian search-and-rescue teams used snowmobiles to search for the family and the newspaper said aircraft were finally able to search Thursday.

It wasn't clear whether air or ground searchers located the group.

RCMP Cpl. Shayne Courtorielle said only "They're alive," the newspaper said.

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