A lot of questions have been left following the death of a 16-year-old Neerlandia resident.
Tyson Mast was killed Feb. 23 when the snowmobile he was driving collided with a tree somewhere near Neerlandia. Members of the Barrhead detachment of the RCMP responded to the call at 10:50 p.m. While the collision is still under investigation, indications are that the snowmobile Mast was driving hit a tree.
Mast had attended a church function that evening, and left to go to a friend’s residence, according to RCMP Sgt. Bob Dodds. When he did not arrive, family and friends initiated a search.
The teenager had been wearing a helmet, and alcohol and drugs were not a factor.
Mast was a student at Barrhead Composite High School. Dodds said grief counsellors were on hand last week to help students deal with the loss of their classmate.
“These situations are always tough,” Dodds said. “There are some questions we would like answered, but we might never know why this happened.”
The area in which Mast was found is a well-travelled section of the snowmobile trail, he said, and added there are many factors that could have resulted in the collision.
“It was very dark and cold that night, and there could have been issues with the throttle freezing,” Dodds speculated.
Investigators will be looking over the machine to see if they can determine whether mechanical failure contributed to the collision, but the snowmobile was completely wrecked in the incident, and Dodds said he doesn’t know if any more information will come from that inspection.
A toxicology report will be filed, Dodds said, but it’s only a formality in the process.
“There are inherent dangers in every outdoor activity, and snowmobiling is not immune,” he said.
