In 1905 the North-West Mounted Police began an annual winter patrol from Dawson to Fort McPherson on the Peel River in the Northwest Territories. The Hudson's Bay Company maintained a trading post at Fort McPherson, which was also the site of a Gwitchin community. The Mounted Police carried mail by dog team to McPherson and nearby Arctic Red River, and to Herschel Island in the Beaufort Sea. The only other link between these points and the outside world was the Hudson's Bay Company steamer that arrived in July via the Mackenzie River.
Inspector J.F. Fitzgerald, Constable J.F. Kinney, Constable R.O. Taylor and ex-Constable Sam Carter left Fort McPherson on December 21, 1910, on the patrol's return journey. They had 15 dogs, a rifle, ammunition, and some food. Esau, a Gwitchin guide, travelled with the patrol from Trail River to Mountain Creek. There Fitzgerald dismissed Esau, based on Carter's assurance he could guide the patrol.
It was a fatal mistake. The patrol went astray trying to find the trail between the Little Wind River and the Hart River. Short of food and facing bitter weather, the men decided to return to McPherson, but starvation, frostbite, and exhaustion impeded their journey. The body of Inspector Fitzgerald, the last to die, was found only 25 miles from their destination.
A search party left Dawson on February 28, 1911. Members of the party included Corporal William John "Jack" Dempster, Constable J.F. Fyfe, ex-Constable F. Turner, and Charles Stewart, a half-Indian guide from Fort McPherson. They covered the route in record time, despite storms and bad weather. On March 12 they began following a snow-covered trail on the Little Wind River, and eventually discovered the frozen remains of the Lost Patrol.
