The strange deaths of David Horesay and Frederick Hardisty in the Northwest Territories

CanadaNorthwest Terr CanadaNahinni National ParkWilderness deathsDavid Horesay and Frederick Hardisty

Jun 15

Frederick Hardisty death 2005 — Frederick Hardisty

David Horesay and Frederick Hardisty, disappeared June 12-16 2005. David’s body found June 27, 2005. Fred’s body found July 8, 2005. Nahini National Park, Northwest Territory, Canada.

Updated November 2023

David Horesay and Frederick Hardisty, inseparable friends from Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories in Canada, were found dead in June 2005 after visiting a friend's cabin in the Nahini National Park northwest of Fort Simpson.

David was found in thick brush two weeks after disappearing, and Fred’s body was found in a river two weeks after that. Both men recovered in areas that had been searched several times.

The families of the two men have said they are not happy with the way the investigation was conducted, and they wanted closure.

What happened to the men in the Canadian wilderness? The area where they died has been linked to many strange mysteries.

The trip to the cabin

On June 12, 2005, David Horesay, 60, and Frederick Hardisty went to Rod Gunderson’s cabin, 77 miles (125 km) northwest of Fort Simpson. Rod was a good friend of the two men and saw them alive and well at the cabin. Both Hardisty and Horesay were described as experienced bushmen.

But when Rod returned four days later, David and Freddy were missing. No note had been left, and the cabin was said to be in a “suspicious state”, although the authorities quickly discounted foul play.

Where is Fort Simpson and the Nahini National park?

Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Dehcho Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, is around 300 miles west of Yellowknife and is 11,000 square miles in area. Part of the Mackenzie Mountains resides within it, and the South Nahanni River (Naha Dehé) is at its center. It was named a national park in 1976 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

Huge peaks and features geysers, sinkholes, deep canyons, caves, gorges, and beautiful, untouched forests surround the park. Within these stunning vistas lies Virginia Falls, a 96 meter (315 feet) high waterfall, twice as high as Niagara Falls.

The area is a true wilderness and has been largely unexplored as it is accessible only by air, water, or a long overland journey by food over several days.

The word Nahanni comes from the language of the indigenous Dene people that have inhabited the region for thousands of years and means “The People Over There”. This refers to a mountain-dwelling tribe known as the Naha, once known to raid lowland settlements before mysteriously vanishing. There is speculation that they may have been the ancestors of the modern-day Navajo people.

Over the years, many mysterious stories have emerged from the area. The names of park areas, such as Deadmen Valley, Headless Creek, Headless Range and the Funeral Range, relate to these stories and legends.

The search for Horesay and Hardisty

The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) started a search for the two men on June 18 but terminated it on June 23 after only a week. A Department of Environment and Natural Resources employee also used a thermal imager to search for them.

When the official search ended, friends and family continued looking for the men, not wanting to give up on them.

Constable Brad Parker of the Fort Simpson RCMP: "Anybody that we've talked to has said there's really no reason why they left the security of the cabin. There are no apparent signs of any problems that we can see. They left the cabin without any firearms; the firearms that were stored at the cabin were still there. There was plenty of food and shelter there, so nobody can seem to speculate as to why they left."

Bodies found

On June 27, 2005, David’s body was found in thick bush, 2.3 miles (3.7 km) away from the cabin.

Strangely, a search team member, Jonas Antoine, said Horesay had burns on his hands and arms. What caused the burns? Was he trying to light a fire? Did something happen in the cabin?

The area was searched several times before the body was found, but it was said the bush was so thick that perhaps this was the reason that the teams missed the body. Whether this was the case or not is impossible to know. Maybe the body was hidden, perhaps not, but if it was hidden, how did David end up there? The body was subsequently flown to Edmonton for an autopsy.

Following this, the police brought in a police dog from Grande Prairie, Alta., to help with the search for Fred.

Then, on July 8, 2005, a search team found the body of Fred floating in the North Nahanni River about 12.5 miles away from the cabin. It was an area searchers had already covered several times in canoes and on the shore.

Jonas Antoine knew both men and said there were still many questions about how the two experienced woodsmen died.

Autopsies

The coroner determined that Horesay died of hypothermia and Hardisty drowned. No other details of the autopsies are available.

Timeline

June 12: Rod Gunderson sees David Horesay and Frederick Hardisty alive at his cabin.

June 16: Gunderson returns to the cabin to find Horesay and Hardisty missing. He sees smoke and some small fires. The cabin doors are locked, and the men leave firearms behind. The cabin is well stocked with food and wood.

June 18: RCMP become involved in the search for the two missing men.

June 23: RCMP are no longer heading the search. Residents and family members continue searching.

June 27: David Horesay's body is found in the thick bush, 2.3 miles (3.7 kilometres) away from the cabin.

July 5: Police bring in a police dog from Grande Prairie, Alta., to help with the search.

July 8: Search team finds the body of Frederick Hardisty floating in the river about 12.5 miles (20 kilometres) away from the cabin.

July 12: The RCMP are in Fort Simpson to investigate how they handled the search for the two missing men.

Aftermath

The Liidllii Kue First Nation and members of the men's families called for a public inquiry into the disappearance and deaths. The family filed a complaint in 2005 about how the RCMP handled the case. The RCMP then conducted an investigation, but they found nothing wrong with how the case was investigated and all involved were exonerated of any blame.

"How could two men in one weekend both die — one in the river and one in the bush?" said Rosemary Gill. "It's very unsettling. There's no closure."

Joseph Horesay, David's stepbrother, said, “There was something else that happened”. He said that when the search began, the RCMP didn't cordon off the cabin because there was nothing to indicate foul play. Also, the search party and RCMP were camped near the site during the search, disturbing potential evidence.

Joe Horesay was part of the search party for the two men, and he said they found strange things at the cabin, "There were bullet shots all over the place, and there was a gunshot in the floor. The picture is bigger than just two guys, one [who] died of hypothermia and the other [who] died of drowning. There was something else that happened before all that came down."

After the bodies were found, Horesay said he asked the RCMP again if they would be investigating. He said the RCMP said they would not be because the search party had contaminated all the evidence.

Robert Hardisty, Frederick's brother, said his family wasn't satisfied with the RCMP's handling of the case either, "There's … too much evidence they didn't look at that we found”, adding they found his brother's shirt with a big hole in it "like a shotgun blast.", “It's like Freddy calling out for help or something, and you can't do nothing.”

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