History of the Lost Patrol

On the 21st of December in 1910 an RCMP patrol left Ft. Mcpherson, 4 RCMP and three dog teams. Their goal was to bring the mail to Dawson City in the Yukon.

The progression became hazardous as conditons deteriorated and the expedition took a wrong turn. The expeditions became lost off the Wind River on Forset Creek. The food dwindled dangerously but the leader,Fitzgerald, stubbornly refused to admit his mistake.

On January 18th he finally admitted that they were lost and began to return to Ft. McPherson. By then the crew were forced to eat their own dogs to survive and to continue on with snowshoes in the deep snow. Kinney and Taylor, exhausted , are left at a fixed camp to die, while Fitzgerald and Charretier carry on. Kinney died of exposure while Taylor killed himself with his own rifle. Fitzgerald and Charretier never make it to Ft. McPherson. They died frozen on the 14th of February just 80 kilometres from their goal.

This epic story is now part of Canadian history.