James Poker's remains recovered, Natuashish chief says

The human remains found on the sea ice off Natuashish on Wednesday were those of missing teen James Poker, the chief of the Labrador community says.

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Poker, 17, went missing 11 days ago.

A extensive search was unsuccessful, and had beenscaled back late last week.

On Wednesday morning, a private plane spotted a body on sea ice roughly18 nautical miles or about 33 kilometressoutheast of Davis Inlet.

Natuashish youth deeply affected by tragedy

Chief Gregory Rich said the Innu community of roughly 800 residents is now in a state of mourning following the loss of someone so young.

Rich spoke highly of James Poker, describing him as friendly, humorous, open-minded and outgoing.

He said many young people in the community have been deeply impacted by the tragedy.

Many questions remain about why the teenager went missing, and how he ended up so far away from the community.

"It's hard to say right now," said Rich.

Poker's disappearance prompted an exhaustive search on the ground and from the air, with volunteers coming from as far away as Hopedale and Nain.

"We will always remember that," said Rich, adding he is very satisfied at how the search unfolded.

He said the community has now transitioned from a period of restlessness and uncertainty to one of grieving and sadness.

RCMP have not yet reported a positive identification of the remains.However, in a statement Thursday afternoon police said physical evidence found within the clothing "strongly indicates" it could be Poker.

"Both the police and the community will know for certain once apost-mortemexamination is conducted," read the statement.

The remains are being flown to St. John's Thursday afternoon, and an autopsy is scheduled for be performed Thursday.