Deceased RCMP officer's fiance moves back to Kugluktuk, Nunavut

There have been lots of hugs for Kelsey Foote since she arrived back in Kugluktuk, Nunavut last weekend.

Foote moved away in April after her fianc, 30-year-old RCMP officer Graham Holmes, died in a snowmobile crash.

She moved to Victoria, B.C., where she grew up, but said there was something missing.

"When I left the community I felt lost and didn't know what to do with myself down south because I was missing that feeling of being in a family," she said.

When she got a call from the hamlet of Kugluktuk earlier this winter offering her a job with their wellness program, it didn't take long for her to say yes.

Foote said that although she and Holmesonly lived in the community for a year and a half, they quickly grew to love the people and the landscape.

Exploring outside was one of Holmes's favourite activities, Foote told CBC after her fianc's death.

Holmes was killed when his snowmobile fell off a 30-metre cliff in Kugluk Territorial Park, about 10 kilometres away from hamlet.

A place in the community

Footesaid she came to realize she had a place in the community, and that people truly cared about her, the day Holmes died.

"People were bringing me food," recalled Foote. "There was a vigil outside the RCMP."

She also cares for the community. Before returning to Kugluktuk after Holmes's deathto collect his belongings, Foote amassed "a pickup truck full" of lacrosse gear for local youth.

"I just wanted to do something for the community to show my support and my love for the community, because they were so supportive towards me. And just something to honour Graham's memory," she told CBC last summer.

Foote's friend Anita Niptanatiak fought back tears while describing how badly she feels for her friend's loss. Niptanatiak only met Holmesonce but said he made a lot of people smile the day he dropped in at the elders' centre.

Niptanatiak said that although they may not know it, all people newcomers included are important members of the community.

"We care for everyone who moves here to work. It's like they belong to us too, even though they just moved to town," she said. "We give that love and support to everybody."

Not the first tragedy on the cliffs

Joe Allen Evyagotailak is another one of the people who is welcoming Foote back and offering support.

He told her a story about an Inuk hunter in the 1930s who was chasing a caribou herd on his dog sled near Kugluktuk, around the same steep cliffs Holmes's snowmobile went over.

Evyagotailak said it's a dangerous area because you can't always see where the cliffs are. The hunter inadvertently chased caribou over the cliff and his dog team went over too, but not before the hunter could jump off.

Foote thanked Evyagotailak for the story, and said it helps her come closer to understanding what happened.