Responsibility for removing an abandoned sports utility vehicle parked on a snowmobile trail is shifting across various levels of government.
The vehicle is parked on a trail leading to Great Slave Lake from Kam Lake, but it isn't on municipal property, according to the city.
"This vehicle is not located on City of Yellowknife land and, as such, the city does not have the jurisdiction to operate on it and cannot comment further on the matter," the city stated in an email to NNSL Media on Jan. 13.
The location in question is within city limits. Still, the city did provide some details on efforts it has made to rectify the situation.
Reportedly, the Municipal Enforcement Division tried contacting the owner of the vehicle multiple times, but seemingly to no avail.
"Staff have notified other authorities about the situation to determine the best approach and next steps," the city added.
The GNWT says the vehicle is not it's problem either.
On Jan. 15, the Department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC) told NNSL Media that it had received no reports regarding the Toyota 4Runner on the snowmobile trail, but an inspector would investigate further.
Like the city, ECC asked NNSL Media for an exact location of the vehicle.
In a follow-up email the next day, ECC said there were no noted environmental concerns.
"ECC has reached out to the RCMP, who created an abandoned vehicle file. We are currently waiting for RCMP to follow up," the department stated. "Since it is not a common occurrence to find abandoned vehicles on non-accessible roads, the GNWT is awaiting more information before determining next steps."
The 4Runner has been sitting in that location along the trail since at least Jan. 1. When the city first tried sending someone to locate to vehicle, it got too dark before they could find it, according to a municipal spokesperson.